Kicking MVP
by echosong258
Summary: It's been said that time heals all wounds. Well sometimes it takes getting your past shoved into your face after ignoring it for 3 years. Staying out of trouble with each other has never been high on Kick or Kendall's priority list, and it may just bite them the Buttowski. Then again it may be just the think they need for things to work out. That or the drama may kill them first.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski  
Hey everyone! I've missed the KB:SD fan-base and there's a very good reason for this plot. Let me know and if you want me to I'll tell you next chapter.  
For those who don't know me, I like Constructive Criticism.  
That means no ripping my heart out, burning it, then dancing on the ashes.  
Is anybody else a little upset about no spell check on here anymore? Cuz sometimes my computer just doesn't catch things that FF did.  
On with the story, enjoy!**

* * *

It wasn't that she had anything against being a Buttowski (honestly!) it was just she occasionally felt annoyed at being part of _this_ particular branch of it. Brianna looked out the back window with a glare; how her brother had managed to convince their parents to let him para-board instead of riding along with the rest of them was beyond her, but there was already little room with Brad and Gunther using up so much space that she could hardly complain.

There were moments where she wondered if life would've been easier with older sisters rather than brothers… then again, she wasn't sure she'd be able to put up with not being the only pageant princess of the family. As the youngest, Brianna received certain privileges and got away with much more than her older brothers could even dream of, still…

She rolled her eyes when she noticed the Gunther had fallen asleep and turned to look out her own window. Honestly, she couldn't figure out why the rest of her family made such a big deal about _almost_ finishing high school? Her parents had done the same thing with Brad right before he started his senior year and for some odd reason, they had decided to keep the tradition alive; as if they _actually_ needed to celebrate the fact Kick had managed to pass the 11th grade and would start the last year of his high school career soon… He got decent marks after all.

 _Maybe I can convince them to let me go on my own vacation when it's my turn…_ She thought ruefully. The idea of going on another family trip when her turn came wasn't exactly something she wanted and Brianna could only shudder at the possible plans her parents would come up with. At least she had her new cell phone in her pocket and a laptop packed; it'd help ease some of the boredom.

She perked up a bit when the car approached some soccer fields and scanned the area; the city they were visiting was well known for its particularly handsome athletes and ever since she had discovered the benefits of being confidant and pretty, she always looked forward to having an occasional servant at her beck-and-call. Her annoyed mood returned when she noticed it was the girls' soccer team rather than the boys.

 _Figures, I'll bet the boys already had their practice…_ Brianna huffed and nearly turned away when she noticed a flash of familiar blonde hair from the corner of her eye. _Is it…_ Her mouth dropped open, _No way…_

"Catching flies isn't attractive, Brianna." Brad scoffed then glanced at the fields, "SOCCER BABES!? Oh this summer is gonna be sweet! Wait till the ladies get a load of The Brad- HEY!" He rubbed the back of his head as his younger sister pulled her hand away, "What was that for?"

"Those girls are still in high school Brad!" She crossed her arms, "One of my friends is on the field."

He scoffed again, "Whatever, not like I was interested anyways…"

She rolled her eyes and turned to look out the back window. They were too far away now, but if she was right about the girl she noticed (and she _definitely_ was), the next few weeks had suddenly become much more entertaining. Even more so because it seemed the 'ever observant' Kick Buttowski hadn't noticed the girl as his younger sister had.

 _Oh the possibilities…_

Brianna sighed happily and leaned back in her seat. All she had to do was set things in motion by getting them to 'accidently' run into each other, which probably was the simplest step, and after that she could sit back and watch from a distance… and maybe 'borrow' the family camera for a while. Summer blackmail material _was_ the best kind after all.

* * *

Gunther watched with a slightly worried expression as his best friend landed in front of the vacation home. The house itself was nice and a _huge_ improvement from the style Kick's dad usually went for, but he couldn't help the anxiousness he felt when he noticed the innocent, almost angelic, smile on Brianna's face. Normally that particular look meant trouble, and not the kind of trouble he and Kick usually found themselves in; it was the kind that typically happened when Brianna found some sort of amusement in her older brother's misfortune and she was the cause of said misfortune in the first place. That or she was playing cupid. Ew.

"Yeah, that was awesome!" Kick punched the air and tossed his best friend the moose pelt, "Thanks for letting me borrow that, Gunther. I definitely need one of my own."

"No problem, Kick. My Mom was thinking about making some in a few weeks so I'll let her know."

"You do that. In the meantime, I saw some of the _sweetest_ places for some of the stunts I've been planning. Let's grab my bag and-"

"Not so fast, Kick." Brianna hopped up beside Gunther and nearly caused him to jump out of his skin. "I want to visit the soccer fields; I already asked Dad and he said yes."

Her brother scowled, "Brad can go with you."

"No, he went with Mom to the store, which is in the opposite direction of where I want to go." Her face became thoughtful, "I think the annual 'Summer Spectacular' this city is so famous for is gonna start soon. I know you saw an amusement park being set up a little farther down…" She shrugged, "What would our parents have to say about my big brother abandoning me in a new town…." Her expression became a mix of mock sympathy (directed towards him, he was sure) and self-pity, "Imagine all the potential stunts you could pull while they're not finished, just because you don't want to come with little ol'me to see my friends…"

"Alright, alright, geez…" Kick huffed and jumped onto the hood of the car.

"I don't know about this, Kick…" He looked down and noticed Gunther practically flattening himself against the vehicle, "There's something very wrong about the way Brianna's smiling… it's the same one she gets when she's planning something."

"Don't be paranoid, Gunther. I'm sure whatever it is, we'll get away before anything happens. Besides," A smirk crossed his face as he jumped off and landed beside his friend, "I already wanted to visit the amusement park and there's a Food 'n' Fix across the street from the soccer field. We'll just ditch Brianna as soon as we get there. It's not like she'll care."

Gunther frowned, "I dunno…"

"Relax buddy. Long gone are the days my little sister managed to get the better of me. Ready to go?" Kick looked over at Brianna who, surprisingly, stood closer to him and his friend than he last remembered.

"Uh, _yeah_ ; I've been ready."

Kick shot her a mild glare before walking away with Gunther at his heels, "Hurry up then. There's a sloshy with my name on it."

"You better not embarrass me in front of everyone when we get there." Brianna brushed some imaginary dust off the sleeve of her jacket as she kept pace with her brother, "I need at least five servants if I'm going to survive this vacation."

Gunther tilted his head, "What does that have to do with meeting your friend?"

"Don't ask pointless questions," She huffed, "Anyways, you better stay with me till I find her. For some reason I'll never understand, you two are popular with girls and when they find out Kick's my brother and you're his best friend, they'll be more willing to introduce me to the guys' soccer team."

"Didn't you say you're friends with some of them?" Kick raised an eyebrow, "Like you actually need us around. And I figured you more of a football kinda girl, sis."

"First off, it's to convince the girls who _aren't_ my friends, _duh_. And please, as if I'd really waste my time with those guys."

"Hey look!" They turned to an overly excited Gunther pointing across the street, "It's a Food 'n' Fix! Wow, the walk was shorter than I thought."

"That's because we took a shortcut," Brianna mumbled.

"Awesome!" Kick turned towards his best friend in excitement, "Time for some- HEY! What are you doing?! Let go!"

Brianna ignored their indignant cries as she dragged the two boys by the ears towards a bench. It was attracting more attention than she had predicted, which was good, but the girl she wanted to look over was too involved in the game to even notice them.

She pushed them to the ground and sat down as she examined her nails with a bored expression, "Like I said, you better stay here till she's finished. 'Cause if you don't, I'm gonna tell Mom and Dad it wasn't a monkey that escaped from the Zoo and trashed the kitchen."

"Seriously, Brianna?" Kick adjusted his helmet and stood over her with his arms crossed and steely gaze focused on her despite her indifference, "Threats aside, you can't keep us here forever."

"I'm not, just until they're finished. And from what I see they don't have much longer. Look for yourself."

Kick rolled his eyes and glanced at Gunther who shrugged before looking at the field. With the exception of dodge ball, Kick had never found interest in any sports and (in his opinion) watching his sisters friend run back and forth chasing a stupid soccer ball was throwing perfectly good time doing _anything else_ out the window. Still, there wasn't much he could do unless he wanted his parents to trap him indoors for the rest of their trip, even if the vacation _was_ for him. In reality it was just an excuse, aside from a few hours of family bonding, for everyone to do whatever they wanted. The only thing he needed to worry about though was his father's overly enthusiastic plans in visiting the city's Post Office. That was probably the bonding activity they'd be stuck doing…

He shook his head and turned towards the field in time to see one of the girls kick the ball over her opponents head and dart around before securing the black and white sphere once more. She ran across the grass and elegantly dodged the other players who got near her, passing to her teammates before they sent the ball back to her. Someone was obviously the star player. Her movements were passionate and confident yet graceful and smooth as she made her way across the field; kicking the ball as far as she could then bolting once more as her teammate caught the pass.

Kick tilted his head slightly as he took in her appearance; she had long, blonde hair pulled up in a high ponytail, translucent skin with the _slightest_ hint of spending hours in the sun (impressive, considering the outdoor nature of the sport). She seemed to possess a lithe figure that was only slightly hidden beneath the loose blue shirt and black shorts. Overall she appeared pretty and even though he was used to fast movements and capturing scenes in an instant due to his life style, he continually missed getting a clear look at her face. Something about her strong yet refined movements seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember from where.

He shrugged and shoved the feeling aside. She was probably the friend Brianna had mentioned, and he'd have the chance to speak with her once the team left the field… and if his sister even let him get near her later. His attention shifted to the field once more as she suddenly avoided one of the Defenders* and caught a pass in time to keep it from straying. The familiar feelings of eagerness and excitement he usually got when performing stunts raced thru him as the girl aimed and shot the ball past the goalie.

"GOAL!"

Kick couldn't help but smile at the group, and a sense of pride filled his chest as the blonde lifted her arms and jumped happily while the rest of the team surrounded her in congratulations.

"Wow!" Gunther jumped up in excitement, "They're good!"

"Of course they're good," The boys turned to Brianna who was casually filing her nails, "One of the top teams in the country. Last I heard they expect their new team captain to lead them to nationals."

Kick raised an eyebrow, "Impressive." He looked at the team, "Blondie's not too shabby. If the captain is half as good as her they definitely got a shot."

"Which blonde?" Gunther asked.

"The one who scored."

Brianna smirked and discreetly adjusted the camera that was inconspicuously lying on her lap. So her brother had noticed the girl after all. Oh things were working out beautifully! And she couldn't help but glance at Kick when the girl pulled away from the group and turned completely, smiling brightly as she stood before the squad. His eyes were wide with shock and his expression frozen as he stared in astonishment.

Gunther took a step forward, "Is… Is that…?"

"Speak _clearly_ , Gunther," Brianna glanced at him then turned back to the field, "Who's who?"

"That!" He pointed towards the crowd of girls who were still congratulating one another, " _Her_! That's… that's…"

Kick felt the blood drain from his body as a pair of familiar eyes met his, "Kendall Perkins…" He whispered.

* * *

"Alright girls," Kendall pulled out a clipboard and looked over her team before continuing, "Coach can't make it today, but she wanted me to remind you we have a game in less than a month and we need to be in top shape! Because it's not just any team we'll be going up against, we're starting off the season with our number one rivals!"

She smiled as the girls began cheering, "After warm-ups we'll start with some technique and skill drills that our assistant captain prepared for us. They're to maximize our efficiency as individuals while simultaneously helping us as a team. We're going to switch up the lines as much as we can then we'll have a practice game, any questions?"

"Captain," A brown haired girl lifted her hand, "How are we going to be divided for the practice game?"

"We'll tell you after we finish drills. Now let's take advantage of having the field to ourselves!"

Soccer practice was always too short in Kendall's opinion, but the trill she got when playing with her team opposed to practicing on her own was worth it. They were a bunch of spirited girls who always gave their best, so different from the student council she had dealt with till the end of her freshman year before she left Mellowbrook. Back when she lived there, the others had only done what they were told or she had to take care of everything on her own… then again, she had never really given them the chance to do anything else. It still amazed her how much of a difference moving to a new town had made in her life…

Kendall took a quick drink from her water bottle once they finished their drills; she probably would've found herself in the same situation as before if it hadn't been for the soccer team. She basked in the sun and her memories for a moment before jogging to her position as the rest of the group lined up for their practice game. Who would've thought she'd end up playing sports? Life now was so much different than what she had imagined only a couple years before; she was friends with a group of girls who were some of the best people she knew and she was going to spend her senior year as team captain! Breaking out of the 'know-it-all, spoiled, insufferable teacher's pet' label she had held for so many years, even if the opportunity to change it had come up, it couldn't compare to having a fresh start. True, there were others who didn't mind her back in her old school, and she had gotten along with her classmates when it really mattered, but here no one knew her history or her past mistakes.

And that was a gift in itself.

She took a deep breath and launched herself as soon as their game began, moving across the field in a way that reflected years of practice and expertise. It had been her most guarded secret when she had lived in Mellowbrook; one she had protected almost obsessively for reasons she hardly remembered (or outright chose to ignore). Even when she had replaced her old town's resident daredevil, even though she _knew_ he was horrible at soccer**, when he had issued a rematch she had chosen roller derby... It was ridiculous honestly; the way she had allowed the recognition to go to her head… but she had wanted to wipe that perpetually smug look off his face _and_ maybe she had wanted him to pay attention to her just once-

An 'opponent' suddenly appeared, catching her off guard and allowing the ball to be stolen. Kendall narrowed her eyes and pushed her stray thoughts away as she ran after the girl; there was no time for worrying about the past, they had a game to win! She quickly caught up and took the ball back with ease, dodging the girls that chased her before passing the ball to one of her teammates as adrenalin rushed thru her. She was briefly reminded of the time dancing had been required to pass gym class, only she was surrounded by her team rather than being accompanied by a handsome daredevil…

 _Focus!_ She scolded herself as her teammates passed the ball back to her again; if she got this shot, then their chances at winning the game against their most hated rivals were almost guaranteed.

She faked a pass before using one foot to lift the ball in the air and kicked it as hard a she could. "GOAL!" She threw her arms up and jumped around before the rest of the girls nearly tackled her to the ground as they celebrated with her.

"Kends that was awesome!"

"We're totally ready for our first game!"

"Nothing's gonna get past us! Right Kendall?!"

"GO TEAM GO!"

Kendall laughed and pulled away to face them, "Ok girls! Great game! Let's run some cool-down laps before we finish up practice and-"

The team watched in sudden confusion as the color drained from their captain's face and a look of shock mixed with dismay replaced the smile she had worn. "Kendall?" The brunette from before reached towards her captain before she pulled her hand away and looked in the direction the blonde had zeroed in on.

The rest of the team turned with her and noticed three people they had never seen before standing by the benches for the fans, staring right back at them. The girl wore an amused expression while the two boys looked stunned, as if they couldn't believe whatever it was they were seeing.

"Kendall, do you… Kendall?"

She walked past them, her face composed and confident (if not somewhat arrogant and irritated) as she approached the three strangers and left her team to stare after her. Kendall knew she was being odd, but she couldn't bring herself to tell the squad yet, and she couldn't ignore the three people from her hometown. She spared a brief glance at Brianna and Gunther, but kept her eyes on the stoic daredevil before her. Aside from looking just a bit older, he hadn't changed since the last time she had seen him (deliciously built and tall with an unwavering gaze…), but what bothered her was how her stomach erupted into butterflies just as they had every time she had met his eyes when she was young.

"Oh my god!" Brianna launched herself at the older girl and enveloped her in a hug, "I've missed you, Kends! It's been _forever_ since the last time I saw you! The rest of the fam's here on vacation which means you and I _totally_ need to hang out before we go…"

Both Kick and Kendall tuned the pageant girl out and glared at each other for a moment before Kendall turned towards Brianna and Kick broke the silence; there was _no way_ he was going to let her ignore him, "Never pegged you for a soccer player."

She gave him a pointed look, "I never expected to see _you_ at a soccer practice. Watching your fans fall all over you not enough anymore? Or did your precious one-man dodge ball team lose its charm?"

"My team is doing just fine thanks," Kick scoffed, "And you know as well as I do I never enjoyed the obsessive attention I got sometimes in the first place."

"Could've fooled me,"

"Come on, Kends-"

" _Don't_ call me that!" She hissed, "Only my friends are allowed to call me that, and last time I checked, _you_ aren't my friend!"

He rolled his eyes, "Oh boo-hoo, poor me; Kendall Perkins doesn't consider me her part of her inner circle."

"Go die in a hole, Buttowski!"

Brianna raised an eyebrow and glanced at Gunther, who looked shocked at Kendall's outburst. It hadn't been rare to see the old student council leader lose her temper, mostly at Kick, but the sudden fury*** she portrayed was a bit of a surprise.

They probably needed a bit more help than she had first thought.

She tilted her head slightly in mild fascination as her brother smirked at their old neighbor, who simply glared in return. Then again, they obviously still had chemistry if the sparks flying between them as they continued bickering were any indication. Brianna gave a mental shrug and adjusted the camera; they'd thank her one day.

"Kendall," Everyone turned (aside from the _ever_ _entertaining_ couple), and Brianna nearly lost her temper as a tall, brown-haired, green-eyed and _obviously_ well-built soccer player from the boy's team approached them. Of all the times for an interruption-

 _Actually…_ An impish smiled crossed her face, _He could be useful…_

"Is your team finished with the field?" The newcomer asked, eyes shifting from Kendall to Kick as the two continued to glare at each other, "'Cause the girls said you haven't even started your cool-offs."

"Almost," Kendall gave Kick a small scowl and turned to the boy, "I was just making plans with an old friend. Brianna, this is-"

"The captain of the boys' soccer team I assume! Kinda hard to miss the "C" on your jersey. Nice to meet you!" Brianna interrupted as she stepped forward and held out her hand, "Sorry about taking up her time, I haven't seen her in years and I _totally_ need someone to go to the mall with while I'm here." She waved a disinterested hand towards her brother, "The idiots behind me are hardly what you could call good company when you're on vacation, but what can you expect from your adrenaline-obsessed older brother and his best friend. _Love_ your accent by the way."

The boy chuckled, "I'm originally from France, been here about 5 years but it still hasn't gone away. And don't worry; I know what that's like since I have two older sisters and a younger one." He turned to Kendall, "We'll wait till you finish your cool-off laps, Kends."

"Thanks Andre****." She smiled at him before looking back at her friend, "Brianna, I've got some stuff to take care of after I finish here. Think we can meet up at the mall later today?"

"Sure! Here's my cell number, I wrote it down when I noticed you so just text me."

"I'll see you later then. Come on Andre, looks like my girls are about ready to strangle your teammates." Kendall turned and gave Brianna a small wave before looking forward again and pointedly ignored her friend's older brother.

Part of her knew she was getting into trouble, and _willingly_ at that, but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to care. Yes, almost two years had passed and she had thought herself over it, but just _seeing_ him again as he stood at the other end of the field had proved part of her hadn't completely let go of the childish infatuation. Brianna _had_ said the family was on vacation, and the fact Kendall had personally erased every possibility of anyone from her old high school finding her till after graduation meant they had stumbled into each other's lives once more by mere accident, and that was a sign for something… wasn't it?

She let out a frustrated sigh as her team began their laps; summer was definitely going to be much more complicated than she had thought.

* * *

Kick glared at the back of the Andre's head. The stupid athlete was standing much too close to Kendall as they walked away and the fact she refused to look back (even if it was only to glare at him) after she waved to his little sister only added fuel to his flame of annoyance.

"You didn't tell me the friend you wanted to see was Kendall."

Brianna shrugged and examined her nails, "You never asked."

"You could've mentioned something!"

"And you would've said no." She put her hands on her hips, "I just texted mom and she's _still_ out shopping. Do you know how long it'd take for me to find out when the next practice was if I had waited for Brad? I was lucky I even noticed on our way here!"

"You totally set this up! I could've been at somewhere else, _anywhere other than_ _here_ , and I wouldn't have had to see her!"

Brianna rolled her eyes, "Please Kick, she's my friend; I would've invited her over to the cabin at some point and you'd be in the same position as you are now. Get over it."

"Not until you admit-"

"Admit what?" She interrupted, "Last I heard you guys got into another 'disagreement' right before she moved. Which is nothing new if you ask me; so I don't see why you're worked up about this."

Kick ignored her sarcastic tone and continued to glare at her, "Don't play innocent with me! I _know_ you know what happened, and if you think you can fix everything, let me tell you that-"

"Uh… guys? Maybe we should get going; the guy's soccer team is staring at us…" Gunther glanced worriedly to the field before turning his attention to his best friend. "The day's still young, let's go get some sloshy's and maybe food before we head to some of the places we passed by on our way here."

Kick looked at the field and scoffed, "Hurry up you guys; we're killing daylight."

"You'd be out doing your stupid stunts even if it was the middle of the night!" Brianna cried indignantly as her brother began walking away, jogging lightly to catch up to him, "You just don't want me near the guys' soccer team!"

He threw an arm around her shoulder, "Relax sis; just think of it as your older brother looking out for you."

"Please… With you around, I'll never have the time to find any potential servants."

"Whatever floats your boat, Bree." Kick turned to his best friend, "I noticed a Rail Yard not far from the main road, anything in my list of stunts for that?"

"Yeah sure, gimme a sec…"

"Don't think this conversation is over Clarence Buttowski!" Brianna snapped, "If you ruin my chances at being waited on hand-and-foot you are _so_ gonna be in for it!"

Gunther rolled his eyes and pulled out a notebook. Honestly, he found it a bit pointless how Brianna continued to act innocent, yet it was understandable at the same time; she was exceptionally persuasive when she wanted to be. Not to mention she enjoyed playing Cupid too much for her own good…

He couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh and look towards the heavens as he silently asked his Viking deities why he was in such a complicated position. So much for a celebratory vacation.

* * *

 ***Defenders are known as "Fullbacks". Along with the Goalkeeper, they have the job of stopping the opponents from scoring.  
**In Season 2 Episode 20 **_**Gym Dandy,**_ **gym was replaced with knitting and Kick tried out for other sports and discovered he wasn't good at anything other than dodgeball. In Season 2 Episode 52** _ **Roll Reversal**_ **, Kendall becomes Mellowbrook's daredevil due to a fluke and Kick challenges her to a rematch.  
***As far as I've seen, Kendall does lose her temper, but she doesn't go all scary crazy where she's screaming and yelling that often. I think in the episode "Hand-In-Hand" was the only one I've really ever seen her **_**truly**_ **freak out in. "Stand and Delivery" is a testament to how she gets upset but doesn't react violently. To an extent anyways.  
****Andre is an OC I had from my last fic, I decided to 'recycle' instead of come up with a new OC.  
I normally prefer more difficult-personality couples opposed to the really mushy, openly/obviously affectionate ones.  
I actually wasn't planning on the whole "Kendall moved away" thing, but it just ended up happening.  
Anyways, Read and Review and remember: Constructive Criticism only!  
See ya soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.  
Hi everyone!  
Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed! Finals are always hard, regardless if you're in university or middle school. Or maybe its just me.  
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Gunther peered over a potted plant, _So far so good... POSITION COMPROMISED! MUST FIND NEW LOCATION!_ A little girl gave him a strange look as he jumped behind a garbage can then made a mad dash towards the mall directory, but there was no time to worry about what civilians thought about him. He was on a mission! Kick was like a brother to him, honestly he was! They had grown up together and had gone thru the craziest adventures (mostly the daredevil's fault, but whatever) so of course there were very few things Kick couldn't talk Gunther into doing… but spying on Kendall made him seriously question his best friend's sanity.

Shortly after both he and Kick had arrived to the vacation home from the Rail Yard, they had caught Brianna on her way out to meet Kendall at the mall, the perfect place, according to the young beauty queen, to meet guys. Kick's previous bad mood from the soccer field, which had slowly disappeared with each stunt, had returned with a vengeance and the duo ended up following her as she went to see her friend.

He sighed and glanced around the directory. The mall had turned out to be bigger than either of them had expected and they had lost Brianna within seconds after arriving, causing them to split up to cover more ground.

" _Any sign of them yet?_ " Gunther scanned the area once more and lifted the walkie-talkie.

"Not yet, Kick. Maybe they already left? We've been looking for the past _hour_ without any luck!"

" _Gunther, if I know my sister (and unfortunately I do) then one hour of shopping isn't enough. They're probably in one of the stores._ "

The Viking sighed, " _Fine_. I'll take a look and-"

" _NO!_ " Gunther jumped and scrambled desperately to catch his walkie-talkie before it hit the ground, " _The whole point of splitting up was to make it less likely for us to get caught! You walking into one of the stores without a disguise would ruin our chances!_ "

Gunther raised his eyes to the ceiling, "Kick, I _really_ don't think this is a good idea."

" _Hey, I'm just keeping an eye on my younger sister!_ "

"More like trying to find out about Kendall's love life…"

" _Huh? I couldn't hear you, Gunther. What did you say?_ "

Gunther shot the device a panicked look, "Uh, I just… well, you see… this is uh… Hey, I think I see something!"

" _Gunth-_ "

He turned the walkie-talkie off and let out a relieved sigh; this vacation would be the death of him... A familiar flash of blonde hair disappearing into one of the near by stores caught his eye.

"Ok, so I can't just walk in," Gunther crossed one of his arms across his chest and used his free hand to prop his head up, "Which means I'll need a disguise…" He snapped his fingers, "And I know just the one!"

* * *

Brianna looked away from a glittery tank-top and raised an eyebrow when she noticed a ridiculously dressed blonde-haired young man enter the store.

 _Honestly…_ She sighed internally. _After all these years he still can't come up with a good disguise?_

She turned towards her friend, who was happily chattering away about something Brianna had tuned out, and tapped Kendall's shoulder, "Hey Kends, don't you think there's something weird about that guy?"

Kendall lifted her gaze then chuckled, "The mall holds a Pirate Convention right before the Summer Spectacular in honor of our High School's mascot." She explained, "What do you think of this skirt?"

Brianna blinked and only managed a vague nod at the somewhat decent choice. Maybe Gunther _had_ managed to pick out a good disguise; there was a small chance at Kendall making up such an outrageous excuse and the city _was_ known for its over enthusiastic fans… Then again, it was _Gunther_ (who else would scurry around questionably and send them obvious glances?) and the only explanation Brianna could settle on was he had gotten lucky.

"You can't be serious, Kends."

"I am!" The older girl laughed, "I know it sounds weird, but that's just how things are done here. Oh! Look at this top! It would look absolutely gorgeous with my skirt!"

"Kendall!" Brianna whined as the poorly-dressed pirate skittered around the displays, "There's something weird about that guy!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic, Bree. This happens every year; I even participated in one right after I moved here." She giggled and turned back towards a different sales rack, "The team dared me to sing a song, I'm pretty sure they still have it on camera, and it was the most embarrassing-"

"Kendall! You are so naive!" The dark-eyed girl shot her friend a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"That isn't a super fan here to support the High School team! _That's Gunther in a pirate costume!_ " Brianna grabbed Kendall's hand and dragged her over to the entrance.

"Arg! Howdy Maties! Are ye ready for the summer festivities?"

"Give it up Gunther!" Brianna snapped, "I can't believe you and Kick thought you could spy on us and not get caught!"

"Arg! I do not know this 'Gunther'. I be here to support the lovely captain of the girls soccer team." He shot Kendall a charming, if somewhat nervous, smile.

"And just _how_ do you know she's the team captain?"

The boy jumped at Brianna's tone, "Arg; everyone who be anyone knows the enchanting Kendall Perkins."

"Oh please," The younger girl rolled her eyes, "You and my brother are just so harebrained… I seriously don't get you guys! And stop with the stupid accent!"

"Arg, girlie, I don't understand what ye are talking about."

Brianna threw her hands up with an exasperated screech and grabbed at the man's pirate hat, leaving Kendall to watch in horrified amusement as the well-built super-fan was tackled to the ground by a beauty pageant queen more than a foot shorter than him.

"Out of all the times for you to _actually_ be clever you _had_ to pick-"

"Hello everyon- Uh… I mean, Bonjur!" Brianna looked at the door and felt her mouth drop open.

At the entrance of the store stood the one and only Gunther Magnuson, in a horrible, 19th century French nobleman's outfit. Brianna looked down at the pirate she had shaking in fear (as he still clung to his hat) and gave him her gentlest, most apologetic smile, "Sorry about that; I thought you were someone else. Enjoy the convention!"

She jumped up, grabbed Kendall's arm and rushed out of the store.

* * *

"That was so embarrassing…" Brianna groaned.

"Embarrassing doesn't even _begin_ to describe what you did! How could you, Bree? I mean really…"

Brianna ignored her friend and buried her face into her hands. In her defense, the Gunther-look alike had acted suspiciously; hiding behind the clothes racks and sending them watchful glances… He probably wouldn't have approached them if she hadn't taken the first step.

She stiffened as a disturbing thought occurred, "Oh my god, Kendall! You don't have a stalker do you?!"

The look she received clearly stated Kendall was beginning to question Brianna's sanity, "Brianna! Don't change the subject! I can't believe you thought Gunther and Kick would spy on us! Neither of them cares enough about my life to do such a thing!"

"Oh please," Brianna scoffed, "You obviously didn't notice the French man standing at the door…"

Kendall paused for a moment, "What French man?"

She couldn't help it, she face-palmed, "Nevermind… if you _actually_ missed that, then I'm seriously worried about you."

"Well _excuse me_ for focusing on a 5'3 beauty queen tackle a 6'4 body builder!"

The girls glared at each other for a moment before they burst into laughter.

"Wow," Brianna grabbed her sides as she attempted to control herself, "You almost fooled me!"

"What can I say," Kendall flipped her hair in an over exaggerated fashion, "I'm full of surprises."

"It's a good thing they haven't found us yet. Otherwise, explaining this would be really awkward."

"I'm just glad you remembered to pause long enough to check if they were actually around."

Brianna nodded, "Yeah… It was super convenient that he looked like Gunther; it's better for them to think we didn't notice them trying to spy on us. Makes payback that much easier."

"You are so mean sometimes," Kendall shook her head, though the mischievous grin on her face only enforced her next words, "What's the plan?"

* * *

Kick adjusted his binoculars as he scanned the food court from a fake potted tree on the third floor; spying and sneaking around had been so much easier when he was younger. Sure, he was still able to crawl thru vents and get past the toughest security when he wanted, but it had been _slightly_ less stressful back then. Of course, he hadn't deliberately spied on Kendall when they were children or even during the brief times they had gotten along or even when she had been in a romantic relationship with some other guy.

"Stupid vacation…" He muttered as he lowered the binoculars for a moment, "Dad just _had_ to pick this city…"

" _Hey Kick! I found them!"_

He grinned and reached for the walkie-talkie, "Really? That's great! Where-"

" _And then I lost them."_

Kick frowned, "You lost them?"

" _Yup,"_

"… So why are telling me this?"

"' _Cause these corn dogs are really good!"_

Kick slid down from the tree and pinched his nose, "Gunther, what do corn dogs have to do with finding the girls?"

" _Oh, well after I lost them I found this corndog stand that's by the food court and that really girly store Brianna likes so much and I saw them with this guy and-"_

"GUY!?" He shouted then gave a sheepish smile to the startled people around him, "What kind of guy?"

" _Hmmph… I shink phat soccer-"_

"Swallow, Gunther."

"*gulp* I think that soccer guy we saw yesterday."

 _Damnit._ Kick glanced over the railing and smirked when he noticed a flag pole, "Gunther, don't move. I'll be there in about 15 seconds."

" _15 seconds? What are you-"_

He shoved the walkie-talkie into his pocket and jumped over the railing.

* * *

Gunther anxiously scurried from store to store; Kick wasn't going to be happen when he found out he had lost sight of both Brianna and Kendall so suddenly after finding them. He had abandoned his disguise in frustration after another five stores before he noticed the food court and felt his mood brighten; how had he not thought of that before? He always worked better with a full stomach!

The smell of corndogs filled the air and he drifted towards the heavenly scent. "Three Jumbo Corndogs with everything on 'em."

"Here you are kid," The vendor handed him a food boat, "Enjoy."

"Thank you my good sir," Gunther took a small bite that filled his mouth with euphoria of flavors and nearly inhaled the rest of his meal before he ordered more.

"Hmmm…." He signed contentedly, "These are delicious! I bet Kick would love-" His eyes widened and he nearly choked on the 7th corndog.

The vendor gave him a concerned look, "You ok, kid?"

"I am such a bad friend," Gunther sighed once his coughing fit passed, "I didn't even think about ordering for Kick. Could I have another two Jumbo Corndogs?"

"I don't think I've ever had someone eat with as much gusto," The man laughed as he prepared the food, "You out of town? 'Cause I would've remembered a customer who bought as much as you."

Gunther nodded, "Yeah, we're here on vacation. But we ran into this girl Kick likes, he's denial about that by the way, and now we're trying to find them 'cause Kick doesn't trust Brianna and- OH MY STARS THAT'S HER!"

Both Kendall and Brianna sat at a table in front of a café type restaurant in the food court, chatting with a boy in a soccer jersey. "I gotta tell Kick."

He pulled out the walkie-talkie, "Hey Kick! I found them!"

" _Really? That's great!"_ Gunther smirked a bit; someone sounded excited. Seriously, as if Kick was fooling anyone… _"Where-"_

"And then I lost them." He thought for a moment, it probably would've been better to have left that out, but how else was he supposed to tell him about the 'heaven on earth' corndogs?

"… _You lost them?"_

"Yup,"

"… _So why are telling me this?"_

"'Cause these corndogs are really good!"

" _Gunther,"_ He could practically see Kick's slightly exasperated expression; more than likely his best friend was pinching his nose to help him stay composed. _"What do corn dogs have to do with finding the girls?"_

"Oh, well after I lost them I found this corndog stand that's by the food court and that really girly store Brianna likes so much and I saw them with this guy and-"

" _GUY!?"_ Kick shouted, and it nearly caused Gunther to drop the walkie-talkie for the second time in two hours, _"What kind of guy?"_ His friend demanded.

"Hmmph…" He took a bite out of his corndog, "I shink phat soccer-"

" _Swallow, Gunther."_

His friend knew him well, "*gulp* I think that soccer guy we saw yesterday."

" _Gunther, don't move. I'll be there in about 15 seconds."_

"15 seconds?" Oh god, he could only imagine what Kick would do… "What are you-"

He heard the food court gasp and looked up in time to see his best friend jump over the railing on the third floor. Kick reached for a flag pole and swung from it a few times before he let go, landed on the corndog stand's umbrella and flipped down to the floor with a smugness that Gunther felt practically screamed awesomeness as the food court burst into applause.

They both glanced towards the little café and Gunther shot his friend a worried look; Kendall hadn't even _flinched_ in their direction! Either the boys' soccer captain was that interesting (it was hard to miss the bold letters that spelt "CAPTAIN" on the leg of the sweatpants the guy wore), or she was still used to random happenings… but going off the barely hidden proud look on Brianna's face, Gunther was willing to bet they had purposely ignored Kick's miniature stunt.

"How long have they been there?"

He shrugged, "Donno, I noticed them right before I called you. Corndog?"

"Gunther, this is no time to be thinking about food!"

"You sure?" He waved the delicacy in his friend's face, "They're good~ "

"Can't you see what's happening over there?!" Kick waved a frantic arm towards the café, "My sister is being hit on by a _soccer player_!"

"Yeah… your sister…" He dipped the corndog in some mustard, "You sure that's what you're worried about?"

Kick shot his best friend an incredulous look, "You're an only child, so I'm gonna ignore-"

"I'm also _not_ in denial about liking someone." Gunther shoved the corndog in his mouth, "Hmm… *gulp* if it bothers you then go talk to her."

"What happened to the best friend who couldn't stand girls?"

"He fell for one and got himself a girlfriend."

Kick crossed his arms, "Life was better before that."

"Well you're single and bitter about your crush talking to another guy, so I'm not gonna say anything to that."

"She is not my crush!"

"Whatever floats your boat, buddy."

"Ugh," Kick threw his hands in the air, "I am not _bitter_ and she can talk to whoever she wants!"

Gunther raised an eyebrow, " _Whoever_ she wants?"

"Yup! Anyone at all!"

"And it doesn't bother you?"

"Nope! Not even a little!"

"So it's ok if she hugs the guy?"

"Yup! Doesn't make a differ- Wait, what!?"

Kick whirled around and caught Kendall (who had stood up at some point) as she pulled away from a goodbye hug with the soccer captain. He marched towards them and barely caught the "Doesn't bother you at all, huh?" his best friend muttered as he made his way towards the girls.

* * *

"So your girlfriend is part of the festival?" Brianna asked in a giddy tone; if he had a girlfriend then she wouldn't have to worry about him accidently messing up her plans. Of course she would have to keep that particular fact to herself if she wanted things to progress between Kick and Kendall.

Andre nodded, "Yes, she loves celebrating with the rest of the town and participating in the Boys vs Girls soccer game."

"She's one of our best forwards*!" Kendall praised, "She may look small, but she's fast and an absolute dream on our offence!"

Brianna tilted her head, "Was she at your practice earlier today?"

"Oh she was," Andre shot Kendall a teasing look then smiled at Brianna, "But considering the racket Miss. Soccer Captain caused I wouldn't be surprised if some of the girls snuck off and no one noticed." He chuckled and turned to Kendall, "I don't believe I've ever seen you lose your temper like that before."

"That's not important, thank you very much."

"I would have to disagree; we couldn't stop talking about it!" He laughed.

"Didn't you have something better to do during practice? Like, I don't know, _practice_!" Kendall retorted then sighed, "I'm probably never going to hear the end of that…"

He shook his head, "No, not likely." Their grins faded when everyone in the food court suddenly began gasping and pointing towards the ceiling, "Isn't that the boy you were arguing with this morning?" Andre pointed out as the group looked up.

"Don't look at him!" Brianna and Kendall snapped at the same time, which earned them a curious look.

Brianna gave him a sweet smile, "We'll explain later, for now, don't pay attention to him."

"I get the feeling you're both trying to get under his skin." Andre laughed.

"I'm his sister," Brianna scoffed, "I don't have to do much to annoy him. Now this girl on the other hand…"

Kendall laughed as her friend trailed off, "Please," She winked at the group, "We've been at each other's throats for years."

"You've never mentioned him before." Andre raised an eyebrow at her.

"And there's a good reason for that," She shrugged, "But it's a story for another time. Besides, I could care less about him."

"And yet you were so worked up about him that you almost completely ignored me when I said hi to you earlier today." Brianna stuck out her tongue and Kendall crossed her arms.

"I'll admit, our arguments have always been… intense, but-"

"Please, everyone within a five mile radius can see the heat between you two."

Her two friends laughed as Kendall buried her reddened face in her hands, "I'd better get going," Andre looked at his watch, "I still have to pick up my sister and run some errands."

Kendall smiled and stood to give him a hug, "We'll see you later then. Take care."

They waved as he walked off, "He's nice." Brianna commented.

"Yeah," Kendall smiled and sat back down, "I'm glad I have him around."

"So, you and le capitaine** are an item then?" They turned and Brianna discreetly pulled out her camera phone as her brother leaned against one of the empty chairs at their table with his arms crossed.

"I'd comment on your lack of a proper greeting, but I only exchange pleasantries with people who have class." Kendall lifted her hand and haughtily flipped her bangs, "And who I associate myself with is none of your concern."

"Oh fancy words; looks like I struck a nerve," He have her deceptively lazy, heart melting grin, "Tell me Kendall, does he manage to fluster you as easily as I can?"

" _Could_ ," She corrected, "In case you haven't noticed; I'm not a child anymore."

"Oh, I've noticed," His eyes slowly moved over her, "As if I could ignore that."

"Hey! Eyes up here, Buttowski!" She snapped, "Go and waste someone else's time."

"And miss hanging out with you? Nah, I think I'll stay."

"Funny, if I remember correctly, there was no way you would ever be caught dead spending time with such an irritating brat like me." Kendall stood and looked at Kick with poised indifference, "Do us both a favor and don't talk to me the rest of the time you guys are here."

"Hey, I'm not the one who came up to us first!"

"And I'm not the one who started the conversation just now or even the first time." She turned to Brianna and gave her a strained smile as she walked away with a quick, "See you tomorrow, Bree."

"I'm headed to the skate park," Kick huffed as he watched Kendall head towards the front doors, "Tell mom and dad I'll be back later."

Brianna looked towards a potted plant behind her once both her brother and friend were out of sight, "Please tell me you got everything,"

"Don't worry," Gunther lifted her dad's camera and sat down, "But I was kind of hoping it'd be more lovey-dovey."

She waved a dismissive hand, "Nah, that's not going to happen for a while. Not till they actually get past everything."

"This whole vacation is gonna be nothing but trouble; they're never gonna get over it."

"I doubt it. I mean, I hadn't expected Kendall to bring anything up for at least another two days."

"Tell me about it; I didn't think Kick would try flirting with her." He shrugged, "Guess he just wanted to know if she still liked him, even if it was just a little bit."

"She wouldn't get so riled up if she didn't."

"He'll be too busy ranting about how much she pushes his buttons to notice."

They sat in silence for a moment. "Was that what you guys had planned?"

"No," She confessed and chuckled at the surprised look on his face. In all honesty it was the fact that he had recorded everything that made her tell the truth, but having a partner in crime seemed fun. "We actually just wanted to ruffle his feathers a bit by ignoring him. Back when we were younger Kendall never really hugged anyone except Ronaldo, but they were dating back then so I guess that's why he asked that."

"Well if Jackie disappeared out of nowhere after a big argument and I suddenly saw her again with some other guy and I still had feelings for her I would probably say something to see if she got over me."

Brianna rolled her eyes, "You guys with your male pride…"

"Hey, don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing with a guy you liked."

"Please, I'd have more dignity than that."

"Love makes us do crazy things."

"They're teenagers, Gunther. I can believe they love each other because they've known each other since they were kids, but I don't know if they're _in love_ yet."

"You're very cynical about these things for a girl."

"Realistic actually, now let me see the shot where she wiped the smirk off his face."

* * *

 ***Forwards (aka strikers or attackers) play closest to the opponent's goal; mostly offence their main job is to score goals and need to be fast.  
**French for "the captain"  
Ah soccer, its a good sport. Surprisingly all of my brothers prefer different sports.  
Next chapter is written and ready to be posted, it just needs some last minute editing that I can hopefully get done in the near future. Having siblings who are not only in finals but extra curricular activities takes up a lot of time. I'm just glad at least 3 of us can drive.  
Read and Review and remember; Constructive Criticism only.  
See you soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.  
I lost my muse after last chapter. Then it hit me with a vengeance. I gave it my best, and I will warn you this fic isn't gonna be as long as my other one, chapter wise anyways. Probably.  
I would like to give thanks too TXToonGuy1037 who allowed me to use an OC of his. If anyone has already read his fics then you'll notice that she's portrayed differently here. Thats because this story was written out before he offered.  
Thanks so much for the reviews! They always make my day!**

* * *

 _They were walking down a familiar street, hand-in-hand and fourteen again when life was good and a touch surreal when he noticed a poster in the window; a circus had all kinds of animals and fellow daredevils and if he could convince the Ringmaster, or whatever the guy was called, to let him borrow some of them he do an awesome stunt he and Gunther had come up with the other day._

 _Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he was dreaming; reliving a memory that he had long since buried. But when he turned to his girlfriend (it still felt a bit like a dream to call her that) as her hand slipped out of his, he wanted nothing more than to relive the moment forever._

 _She was staring through one of the shop windows with an excited expression that quickly sifted to shock then to annoyance, determination, righteous anger, pride mixed in with smugness and back to excitement. He observed her for a few moments; fascinated by the passionate movements of her hands that had started out as a simple clenching of her fists to suddenly punching the air, muffled squeals and squeaks escaping her as she continued to watch whatever had caught her attention (he vaguely recognized it as a TV screen)._

 _She was just so… alive. There was really no other way to describe it; Kendall appreciated life in a way that was so different from the way he had enjoyed it since before he could walk. A sunny day at the beach for him meant jet skiing, inner-tubing and anything else he could think of. For her it meant tackling her cousins into the water, helping the smaller family members build sandcastles and then roasting marshmallows and remembering all the crazy adventures they held close to their hearts._

 _True, he wasn't as adrenalin obsessed as he used to be, but it was nice having a reminder life didn't have to be on the fast track to be enjoyable._

 _He was lucky to have her as a girlfriend._

 _He snuck up behind her and narrowly missed getting punched in the face as she suddenly threw her arms into the air, jumped up squealing "YES YES YES!" and spun around, eyes shining with unrestrained joy that rivaled the stars and a smile full of bliss that glowed brighter than the sun itself._

… _He honestly wasn't sure when he had become such a poetic sap. In his own mind anyways; he'd_ _die_ _if it ever got out._

 _In the 3 seconds it had taken him to make his overly-mushy observation, Kendall had noticed him and the happiness on her face had shifted into horror and embarrassment. It was just too cute, like a kitten getting caught scratching at the furniture (… wow he was pathetic; comparing her to a_ _kitten_ _?!) and he couldn't help but laugh, both at her expression and his own thoughts. Even when she began pushing him away from the shop's window, babbling about them being late to something (she was just making excuses, it was summer and they were just hanging out) he smiled and spun around to wrap her in his arms._

 _Green eyes looked back at him and he nearly fell over in shock; in his girlfriend's place was an old friend with scarlet red hair and just as much of an adrenaline junkie as himself, batting her eyes at him in a way that he was absolutely sure meant trouble. Everything around them had faded to black, and he noticed something flickering in the background as she leaned towards him (why couldn't he move?!). He turned towards the figure, only to be met with the wide, devastated eyes of his girlfriend._

 _She turned and ran, a glimmer of moisture appearing in her pretty eyes._

 _Whatever had been holding him hostage suddenly disappeared, along with his friend, and he ran after her, calling her name as he increased his pace. But with every step she seemed to get farther and farther ahead till even the glow of her blonde hair faded form sight._

 _A horrible sense of dread and panic filled him. He turned in circles but met with inky blackness till a giggle sounded behind him. When he turned he felt his heart squeeze painfully; Kendall had her arms wrapped around Andre in a tender, if somewhat shy, embrace and he held her as if he was handling crystal._

 _She turned to him, eyes that had once looked at him with such warmth were filled with indifference, and his heart tore with every passing second at the thought that he no longer meant anything to her._

Kick gasped and sat up in his bed; his lungs greedily pulling in air as his nightmare faded away. Every night since they arrived it had been the same routine and it was taking a toll on him. The dreams were relatively the same; he relived one of his secretly favorite memories then suddenly she was gone. But none of them had been as bad as the one he had just woken up from.

His heart thudded achingly in his chest and for a moment he marveled that it was still beating. He still cared about her. Despite her overbearing attitude when they were children he had discovered she had a wilder side she often hid from the world because she felt pressured to live up to self-imposed standards. It was a side he had cherished in the short amount of time he was able to call her his girlfriend.

Now someone else was able to appreciate her tom-boyish attitude.

He groaned and flopped back down onto the bed; if the past few days had shown him anything, it was that he wouldn't be falling back asleep. At all.

At least he knew where to go to clear his thoughts.

* * *

Kendall sighed as she jogged around the school's soccer field for the fourth time that morning; no one had caught her so far, but she wasn't looking forward to giving a half-truth once they noticed she'd been on the field _two hours_ before practice even started since _that person_ waltzed back into her life like he freakin' _belonged_ in it (As if! The jerk…).

In all honesty it felt as if her brain was on "super-overdrive" (if such a thing existed) and she hadn't been sleeping well. At first she had figured if she wore herself out physically, then her mind would have no choice but to let her body recover. The idea had been shot after the second day. Still, she wasn't giving up and had gotten a lot of time for her light-paced personal soccer drills and some yoga before a few cool-down laps; another perk was that she would be the first one to practice again. But that was normal for her; she was still an overachiever after all.

Of course there was no way she would _ever_ explain to the team… but knowing them, she stood next to no chance in keeping everything secret... She loved them as her friends, but even after so many days she wasn't ready to face her past and the girls were far too curious for their own good. But they would find a way to get her to talk about _him_ and there was only so much pestering she could take. And they would hound her nonstop till she caved … Oh good lord… she could already hear them badgering her about the incident at the mall!

 _How could I have been so stupid!_ She huffed and increased her pace. _He's probably already figured out that I haven't gotten over it… that I still like him… Oh that arrogant jerk! With his smug little smile and steely gaze… Ugh! I just want to smack that look right off his face!_

She shook her head. _And how_ _dare_ _he look at me the way he did! Making me feel self-conscious and awkward as if I was some star-struck fangirl meeting her idol!_

"I am not a fangirl!" She shrieked and skidded to a stop.

"Are you ok, Kendall?"

She looked up and blinked in surprise, both at her breathlessness and the sight of her teammate, "Morning Haley," She panted with a cheery smile, "What are you doing here so early?"

"Andre's picking up his older sister from the airport and since both my house and the school are along the way, he figured it'd be nice for me to get here early for once." Haley pulled her brown hair into a ponytail, "So are you ok? That was a pretty intense sprint."

 _I was sprinting?_ "Yeah I'm fine," _Great…_ _Even when he's not around he gets under my skin…_ She took a deep breath; "I just need to do some cool-down laps." _Again._

"Let me join you, it'd be a good warm-up for me."

* * *

"So…" Haley shot her captain a curious glance after they had jogged in silence for a few laps, "What was that about you not being a fangirl?"

Kendall blushed, "Ah… I was just thinking about something…"

"Was it that boy from a few days ago; the one in the suit?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Oh I don't know… it might be because Andre said you and that guy have some history."

"And people say that teenage girls love to gossip…" Kendall muttered, "Yeah I know him, we lived in the same neighborhood before I moved here."

"You never really talk about your old town," Haley shot her friend a teasing smile; "We had a poll going on for a while."

Kendall laughed. "Seriously?"

"Yup! Some of us believed you were upset about moving here, others thought it was because of a boy," She grinned as a blush covered Kendall's face, "Ooooo it _was_ a boy!"

"Oh be quiet!"

They giggled and started another lap. "He's cute though."

"Haley!" Kendall gasped in mocked dismay, "What would Andre have to say about that?"

"Well it'd help you with your boy troubles; they'd never find lover-boy's body,"

"He wouldn't do that!" She cried then added as an afterthought, "There is nothing going between me and Kick."

"Oh~ so his name is Kick?"

Kendall sighed, "Nickname." She corrected.

"So what's the deal between you two?"

"Yeah what's the deal!?"

"Is he an ex?"

"Or a forbidden romance?"

"And talk louder! We can't hear from all the way in the back!"

The girls turned in surprise and found the rest of the soccer team jogging after them with eager looks along with their coach, who was on the sidelines watching them with amusement. "How long have you guys been here?"

"Oh Kendall," One of the girls laughed, "Don't change the subject; we've been waiting for _days_ for you to tell us about you and Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome!"

"Finish your laps so we can get on with practice!" She scolded and the team groaned as their captain pulled away.

"You're no fun!"

"Can't you just tell us now?"

"No use in keeping secrets! We'll find out eventually!"

"GIRLS!" Their coach hollered, "This is a soccer practice! Not a gossiping club! Two more laps then drills!"

Kendall snickered and headed for the bleachers as the girls whined in disappointment.

* * *

"How long are you gonna just sit there and watch?"

Kick looked away from the field and raised an eyebrow at his friend, "When did you get here?

"While you were making googly-eyes at Kendall."

"I was not making 'googly-eyes'!"

Gunther shrugged and adjusted the camera, "So…"

"I was just passing by."

"Before breakfast?"

"Hey, I get up early."

"Never said you didn't, but you've been here since they started and you were wondering around town before that." Kick blinked and Gunther shot him a grin, "I've noticed you've been coming here every morning for the past few days when I pass by here on my way to get some stuff I need. Which reminds me, your mom said she was gonna make your favorite." Kick hummed in response and they turned to watch the soccer field in silence for a moment.

"Do you think if I tried talking to her again she'd listen?"

Gunther shrugged again, "Worth a shot."

"Would it even make a difference?"

"What do you mean?"

"I… I just…" Kick ran a hand over his helmet, "Don't get me wrong; we had some good times, and I'm sure she'd understand, but why would she give up a good relationship with someone she actually likes and got along with since she met him?"

"Ok first, you don't know if they're actually 'together'. Quiet! Dr. Gunther is speaking!" Gunther shot his friend, who had opened his mouth to interrupt, an unamused glare. "Second, even if she doesn't take you back, isn't being friends better than not having her in your life at all? At least you'll have a chance if you get along."

"I guess…"

Gunther frowned, "Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?" He jumped up and looked towards the sky, "The Kick Buttowski _I_ know takes risks and lives for danger! I mean sure, she'll probably turn you down or maybe humiliate you in front of complete strangers and you'll never be able to show you face around here again-"

"Gunther!" Kick snapped, "You're not helping!"

"But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take a chance. Imagine Brianna suddenly announcing she's going to Kendall's engagement party!"

"Still not helping!"

"Well what's gonna make you get off your Buttowski and talk to her?"

"I was already going to!" Kick threw his hands up, "Then you started ranting and everything you said _wasn't helping_!"

"Pfffftttt," He scoffed, "Yeah right, I'm an awesome motivational speaker."

"I think you have the definition for "motivation "confused with something else." They turned and Kick narrowed his eyes at the cocky grin Andre sent him before turning to look at Gunther, "My girlfriend could help with that; she's practically a walking dictionary. When she feels like it at least."

"As much as we'd _love_ hearing you brag about your… girlfriend," Kick gagged slightly, "We have other things to do."

Andre's grin turned into a smirk, "Like watch the girls' soccer practice?"

Punching the smug look on his face was beyond tempting… "Don't you have your own practice to get too?"

"Yeah well," Andre shrugged, "You're lucky it's just me who's noticed, the other boys would probably beat you up without listening to what you had to say. Unless the girls got to you first."

The three turned to the practice game and flinched when one of the girls screeched in outrage when the ball was stolen from her and began hunting down her opponent across the field.

"Maybe we'd better get going, Kick." Gunther stood and adjusted the camera, "Besides, if we hurry we'll make it in time for brunch!"

"That and I don't think my girlfriend and her team would appreciate you spying on them."

Kick jumped up and shot the French soccer captain a glare, "I just wanted to talk to her, and whether you like it or not I will be. I'm sure Kendall doesn't need your permission to talk to other people."

Andre scoffed, "Of course Kendall can talk to other people- wait," A confused expression crossed his face, "You think-"

"And I don't need you shoving the fact Kendall is your girlfriend in my face." Kick interrupted, "Now if you don't mind…"

Andre blinked as Kick walked away (it wasn't often he found himself stunned into silence) then turned to Gunther, "Your friend doesn't _truly_ believe Kendall and I are in a relationship, does he?"

"Uh..."

"Nevermind," He shook his head, "If possible I would like to explain to him that she's not, but considering he plans on talking to her that should be cleared up soon. Plus, I get the feeling he's not gonna talk to me any time soon."

"You're taking this pretty well," Gunther commented.

Andre laughed, "You're in high school right? There's always a bit of drama, usually from miscommunication, jealousy and a lot of other pointless things. So yeah, I'm not surprised."

"GUNTHER!" They looked up and were met with a scowl that, despite being shot at them from several yards away, was actually quite intimidating, "HURRY UP!"

"Well I'm going to leave before he actually manages to make me self-combust with that glare of his." Andre turned and gave a small wave, "See you,"

Gunther sighed; good lord what had he gotten himself into…

* * *

That evening Kendall and Haley found themselves on the ground as side-splitting laughter ripped through them, "OH MY GOSH! HAHAHAHA! OH MY GOSH! HAHAHA! HE THOUGHT- HAHAHAHAHA! YOU?! AND- A _RELATIONSHIP_?! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Brianna raised an eyebrow as she watched them roll on the ground, "Your girlfriend has a weird sense of humor."

"So does your friend," Andre retorted.

"Touché."

"Although, I'm not entirely sure if I should be insulted."

"Don't be," Brianna waved a dismissive hand as they waited for the girls to calm down, "You two act like siblings, Kick just doesn't see it 'cause he's an idiot."

"You don't hold your brother in high regards, do you?"

"Depends on what you're talking about."

"OH THAT'S RICH!" Haley sat up and slapped her knee, causing herself and her soccer captain to fall into another fit of giggles.

"… I'm so glad we're at your house, Andre. I'd die if they acted like this in public."

"You _have_ to describe the look on his face for me!" Kendall wiped a few laughing-tears away, "Man, I wish I could've seen it!"

Andre shrugged, "He wants to talk to you; take a moment from making eyes at each other and correct him."

"We do not 'make eyes' at each other!"

"Oooooo! So dirty, Andre!" Haley jumped up and ignored Kendall's indignant, and slightly horrified, look, "Do you think he would like that sort of thing?"

Brianna smirked as Kendall's face turned bright red and mock-whispered to her new friend, "Better question is whether or not _Kendall_ is into punishment."

Kendall made an odd choking sound that the two conspirators promptly ignored, "Kick strikes me as the type who likes getting into trouble…" Haley began.

"And Kendall is a huge stickler for the rules…"

They turned to the couch, where Andre had been sitting, and noticed a note card in his place. "I don't even need to read that to know he felt uncomfortable and left," Haley sighed then pouted, "And it was getting good too."

"There's only so much a sibling can take," Brianna shrugged, "Guess he just doesn't have the guts for it."

Kendall made another choking sound before she finally found her voice, "What is wrong with you guys?!" She shot them a glare when they turned to look at her, "I'm not even into that!"

She knew the instant the words had left her mouth that they had been the wrong ones to say. But the thought of her and Kick doing… _that_ left her agitated beyond words because seriously?! They couldn't even tolerate breathing the same air! And she had meant to say 'him' as in 'I'm not even into _him_ ' and while her friends would've teased her relentlessly and driven her up a wall faster than her cat could climb, it still would've been better than the torture she had just subjected herself too.

"So you've thought about that sort of stuff before?"

"What exactly _are_ you into then?"

She prayed to every higher being she knew of for the earth to swallow her whole.

* * *

 **I've noticed that I practically ignored Kick the last two chapters. Personally I'm not a fan of doing that. I like letting my readers know what's going on in the heads of both protagonists. And maybe a few other characters if it helps the reader understand.**

 **Please read and review, I'll see you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.  
Hello again! Thanks so much for your reviews/favoring/following! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Kendall peeked around a food stand suspiciously; her team was _relentless_. They had given her a day ( _a day_ ) free of pestering then had ambushed her the movement she stepped out of her home this morning. They were employing Group-Interrogation Tactic #5; surprise with promises of fun then, when relaxed, subtly drop simple, no-thought questions that eventually lead to ones that gave answers to what the group wanted to know. She scoffed; they couldn't _seriously_ believe they could use the very tactic she had taught them against her… then again…

She considered herself lucky that the festival was such a huge event; not only had it been easy to lose them, but it gave her plenty of places to hide as well. Although, there was _no way_ she was going to spend the entire weekend hiding or looking over her shoulder.

A stand selling pirate costumes caught her eye and she couldn't help but smirk; she was _so_ not getting caught up in their little tricks.

* * *

"I make a pretty good pirate if I do say so myself." She commented as she posed in front of a mirror. "Can't believe I let them pick my costume the first time… this one is much better." She wore a semi-loose white blouse with a red sash around her waist, a yellow bandana to match her hair ( _not_ because she wanted to somehow match Kick's jumpsuit), black, form-fitting pants that were made of breathable fabric, boots, a fake sword and a captains hat along with some gold hoop-earrings.

She was wrapping her hair into a bun at the base of her neck when someone appeared next to her, "Wouldn't it be better to hide your hair completely?" She shrieked and jumped a foot into the air.

"Wow Kendall, jumpy much?" Haley raised and eye brow and grinned at the scowl her soccer captain gave her.

"If the others are with you-"

"Relax," Haley raised her hands in a motion of peace, "Andre's got the boys distracting them."

"Oh god… that's just asking for a blood bath!" Kendall buried her face in her hands for a moment then looked up at the sky with an expression that clearly screamed ' _why me?_ '

Haley laughed and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "They're not going to kill each other… well some of them might try but I'm sure it'll turn out fine."

"I blame the boys vs girls game we have every year… they wouldn't hate each other so much if it wasn't for your stupid competition."

"I resent that; Andre and I get along just fine."

"Of course _you_ would, you guys had this weird flirty thing going on before you even joined the team."

"You're just bitter."

Kendall grabbed a hat and shoved it good naturedly into Haley's hands, "No, I'm annoyed 'cause the team wants to talk about something I'm not ready to discuss and it doesn't help that last night you and Brianna kept me up for _hours_ talking about… _that_!"

Her friend snickered, "I'd correct you on what "that" is, but we're in public and there are little ears around so I'm gonna keep it as PG as possible." A devious smile appeared, "Did you dream about a sleepover with him last night?"

"HALEY!"

Kendall ducked her head in mortification as people who were passing by openly stared at them, from both her outburst and Haley's maniacal laughter. "OH MY- HAHA! OH! OH MY SIDES! HAHAHAHA!"

"Shut up!"

Haley gasped for breath, though her smile remained, "Sorry, sorry. I'll make it up to you I swear."

"You better," Kendall huffed, "Or you'll be suffering for it on the field." She felt as small amount of satisfaction at the brunettes gasp of shock.

"You would never take advantage of your position as captain like that!"

Kendall smirked, "There's a lot you and the rest of the team don't know about me."

They left the costume stand in companionable silence, viewing each sales stand and playing a few games before they ventured into the food court. "You know," Haley began as she bit into a corndog, savoring the taste before she swallowed and continued, "We don't really mean any harm when we bug you. The girls and I just wanna help out." Kendall raised an eyebrow at her, "Ok _some_ of us wanna help out." Haley relented, "The new girls are too nosey for their own good."

She smiled as a laugh escaped her friend, "I know, I know," Kendall grinned at her then sighed, "A lot of us have been on the team for almost 3 years, and I trust you guys; you were some of my first friends… but… I'm just not ready to talk about."

"… Keeping it bottled up for the rest of your life isn't going to heal you, Kendall."

"I wasn't going to-"

"You only gave us basic details of your life before you moved here when you couldn't find a way around it, we had to find out you were form Mellowbrook from your _mom_."

Kendall gripped her bottle of lemonade nodded towards a more secluded bench, one perfect for hiding from observing eyes, "Can we sit down?"

Haley nodded and waited patiently after they took a seat. "We lived in the same neighborhood," Kendall began, "This is probably going to sound really weird and maybe a bit ridiculous, but my dad married into my mom's family; we have her last name. Back when I was still a kid, and mom still lived with us, I was probably the biggest tomboys you'd ever meet and my parents, along with my sister, encouraged it."

A wistful smile appeared as she looked up towards the street, "She was so different from me, I mean sure we shared some interests, but my sister was almost the polar opposite of me. She was at all of my games though, and I went to each of her ballet recitals. Then we had to move to Mellowbrook for my dad's job and mom moved here for her work and well, my sister decided she wanted to live with my mom. Back then I thought maybe the fight we had the night before about me tracking my muddy cleats through the house and accidently getting her leotard dirty made her decide she didn't want to live with me anymore.

"I had never really paid attention our age difference, so I hadn't realized it was because she needed to get ready for University. I thought maybe I could make it up to her by acting more proper. Then later she decided to give up inheriting our mother's business to pursue her own career." She shook her head, "I mean… I get it _now_ , I completely understand her reasons for staying and I've accepted it wasn't my fault and that I don't _have_ to follow in my mother's footsteps, but I was just a kid back then and I thought if I changed… things could go back to normal.

"A lot of people don't get it, but you can't truly understand something unless you've been through it." She sighed and looked at her friend, "A little while after we settled down I met Kick and it was like a soccer ball to the gut, because he could be himself without worrying." She frowned, "Now that I think about it that was probably why I was so rude to him after he performed a stunt the first day I met him. It was really rare for us to get along after that."

"…But you _did_ get along?" Haley prompted after a moment of silence.

Kendall smiled, "Yeah, we did. It's still kinda surreal, how it all happened, but we started dating right after freshman year ended." Her eyes glazed over and a dreamy expression crossed her face, "And I loved every second of it."

"What happened?"

The serene look on her face became stormy, "He hadn't let go of how I used to be. I hadn't told him everything, but I thought he had at least _tried_ to understand the pressure I felt when I was younger. That it wasn't easy for me to suddenly let go of all these habits I had practiced for _years_. But I guess he wanted a girl who didn't carry all that baggage…"

She blinked in surprise as drops of water hit her hands, when had she started crying? A sob suddenly escaped her, "I really, really liked him Haley. I really d-did and I was so happy; he was l-like a breath of fresh air and I finally felt like I c-could finally work to b-becoming myself again. He was so honest and open and I never thought-" She took a deep breath to choke down another sob, "He didn't even wait to dump me before he moved on."

"Oh, Kends..." Haley wrapped her arms around her friend and for the first time in nearly three years, Kendall allowed herself to cry.

* * *

Kick eyed the funnel cake Gunther held in one hand. "How many pictures of your food are you going to take?"

"Jackie wants to know if the food here is good enough for her to make a trip."

"Oh god… she's not planning on coming is she?"

"I plead the Fifth."

Kick face-palmed, "Can you at least convince her _not_ to come?"

"Still pleading the Fifth,"

"… I'm going to take a walk, don't bother calling unless it's important."

Gunther shrugged and snapped another picture, though this time it was of his friend's despondent, and slightly irritated, expression rather than the sugary treats he had bought. Kick sighed and headed towards the game stands; it just wasn't his day. Though, if he was being honest, it just wasn't his _week_. Vacations were meant to be relaxing, fun and just… not what he was experiencing.

Great chimichangas what had he gotten himself into? If he had known-

He shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets with a glare; it actually could've gone either way. Part of him wanted to curl up under a rock and never risk facing the depressing bitterness of one particular memory, the other wanted to march up to her, make her listen to what _actually_ happened and then kiss the living daylights out of her.

Yeah he was still a sap.

A laugh that pulled at his heartstrings caught his attention and he looked up in surprise; despite her costume, the pirate at one of the games was definitely Kendall (he'd recognize her smile anywhere) joking with a brown-haired girl that looked familiar. They were tossing rings onto glass milk-bottles, though it was obvious they were sabotaging each other in a friendly sort of way.

He smiled; she still had that air about her when she allowed herself to relax that just made him feel… content. It was nice, knowing that part of her was the same.

He turned and walked away. If there was one thing Kick would openly admit (to himself) that worried him, it was how much she had possibly changed over the years apart. Yes, their last few encounters were similar to the ones they had as children, but it could've been because she was still upset over what had happened. And anyone had the right to stay hurt if it had happened to them but it had been a misunderstanding! A _huge_ blow up that had caused him the biggest head (heart) ache of his life because it had been nothing but drama that was only supposed to exist on those ridiculous shows his mother and sister (and occasionally Brad) watched.

He wandered around the fair-grounds for a while before he spotted her again, and he couldn't help the jealousy that arose in his chest. She was sitting on a secluded bench with her beloved _boyfriend_ giggling and blushing and just ripping his heart out with every passing second. It was a bit of a surprise, how much a person could hurt someone without even noticing or trying. Andre pulled out a rose from behind his back and Kick was caught between going over and pulling her away or turning in the opposite direction to ignore them for the rest of the day.

As Kendall pulled her boyfriend into a hug, he opted for the latter.

* * *

"Feeling any better?"

Kendall sniffed and pulled away from her friend's arms, "Yeah actually, thanks Haley."

"No problem," Haley placed a comforting hand on Kendall's knee, "It's ok to feel sad every once in a while."

"Yeah," She sighed, "I know."

They jumped as a ringtone blared, "Oh great," Haley mumbled once she read the text, "Feel like helping me stop the girls from murdering Andre's team?"

"And risk them grilling me about Kick? No thank you."

Haley nodded, "Yeah I figured. I'll text you once it's all sorted out."

"Thanks." Kendall watched as her friend left before turning her gaze to the sky. She felt… lighter; as if allowing herself to be human for a moment had lifted a weight off her.

"Ugh… I still have that stupid habit of trying to be perfect all the time."

"No one's perfect, Kendall."

"Andre!?" She jumped in surprise, "What- where-"

"I'm doing fine thanks, and you?"

She flushed, "Don't get all snarky with me, Andre. I'm your girlfriend's best friend!"

"I'm just kidding," He laughed and sat next to her, "A penny for your thoughts?

"Oh, um…" She looked at the ground, "Nothing really, Haley and I were talking earlier and I'm feeling a lot better."

"I can tell; you've been wound tighter than a two dollar watch for almost a week."

Kendall shot him an incredulous look, "Who even says that anymore?"

"I do, obviously."

"Yeah well you didn't have to use such a dorky quote."

"I could've said tighter than a banjo string."

"Oh god that's even worse… you're so lame."

"I am _awesome_ , thank you. And- Hey don't distract me!"

She ducked her head and laughed, "Not like its hard; I wouldn't be surprised if you were an animal in another life! You're just as bad as my cat when I use the laser pen!"

"Hey!"

Kendall nearly fell over in a fit of giggles, and despite how he was shaking his head; Andre had a smile of amusement on his face. "I'm glad you're feeling better you know."

"Thanks," She smiled, "I'm surprised you're not with the guys. Haley got a text saying my girls were about to-"

"Destroy my team? Yeah I got one too. I'm sure they'll be fine."

"You're not worried about them?"

"Nah, it'd give the newbies a chance to out shine the ones dumb enough to provoke the girls' soccer team."

"… I don't think I can really argue against that."

"Of course you can't," Andre grinned and leaned against the bench with his arms behind his head, "I'm just amazing at rationalizing things."

She snorted, "Yeah, which is why you can't ever say no to your girlfriend."

"I wasn't the one stuck having a very mature conversation with her yesterday."

"… Touché."

They sat in silence for a while.

"You know," Andre turned to her, "I think I'm going to talk to him."

"Kick?"

Kendall nodded, "Yeah; I think it's time I moved on."

"That sounds like a good start." He looked pensive for a moment, "I did tell you he thinks we're dating, right?"

"Yeah you did, and that's just- EW!"

Andre raised an eyebrow, "I'd feel offended if I didn't share the same opinion."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude but EW!"

"Please darling," He said in an exaggerated French accent as he placed a beret on his head, "You don't know what you're missing."

She laughed, "Oh please, you're not my type."

"I am everyone's type!" He pulled a flower from behind his back."

"Oh! Is the rose you're using to ask Haley to the End of Summer Spectacular Dance?" She cooed over it for a moment, "It's so pretty!"

"Yup! Had to grow five different ones with the help of a greenhouse worker to finally get this one."

"She's gonna love it!" She threw her arms around him, "Congratulations!"

He laughed, "Thanks. Now why don't you head out and find your lover boy."

"Shut up!"

* * *

"Pure gold," Brianna held the phone away from and examined the photo with appreciation, "You just can't get quality like this anymore; reality-tv has nothing on real life these days."

"You're getting way too much enjoyment out of this." Gunther commented as she gave him back his phone.

"Please; they'll thank me one day."

"No, I'm pretty sure they'll kill you first and then _maybe_ consider thanking you."

"Just keep eating your funnel cake."

"I would if _you_ hadn't eaten it!"

She huffed, "Besides, you may be my brother's best friend but not even that could save you from his wrath once he finds out you helped me out."

"Against my will!"

"Schematics."

He shot her a glare, "Doesn't this bother you? Like, at all?"

"What? You mean seeing the heartbreak on both of their faces and absolute despair at the thought they may never find happiness?" She thought for a moment, "Nope."

"What are you heartless, woman?!"

She sighed, "Look Gunther, nothing worth having comes easy. Doesn't matter if it's a relationship or a job, even earning or giving forgiveness and trust takes effort because if you want something you gotta work for it." She gave him a look, and he was startled to find absolutely no mischief or deceit in her expression, "I believe it's possible for people to have a happy life, even if they haven't completely let something go. But just because everything and everyone around them is living in sunshine it doesn't mean that they always are. There's always going to be that little dark cloud in the back of their mind that they'll eventually go back to and you never know how they're going to react.

"I want them to live as happily as possible and sometimes forcing people to confront their problems is the only way to help them move on. This just so happens to be one of those times; even _I_ know when there should or shouldn't be any meddling. Maybe they'll end up with each other, maybe they won't, but either way they don't deserve to have that hanging over them. Both of them ought to have as little regrets as possible."

They stayed silent for a while, as the gravity and sincerity of Brianna's words washed over them, before Gunther finally sighed and held out his hand, "Give me the camera. I better not regret this…"

"Knew you'd see it my way," She smirked, "And don't worry. I'll handle everything if they find out."

He smiled at her, "Yeah, sure… Don't get into too much trouble."

"No promises." She winked and skipped off in the opposite direction. "See ya later, I'm gonna check on a few cameras I hid around the fair."

He waited till she was out of sight before shaking his head, "I have no idea how Kick puts up with her."

"How Kick puts up with who?"

A manly scream escaped him, "Kick!" He grabbed at his chest and shot his laughing friend a glare, "Give me a heart-attack why don't you?"

"Sorry, sorry." Kick held up his hands in a motion of peace and grinned, "Didn't mean to."

"Says the guy who snuck up on me!"

"Hey now," He threw an arm over Gunther's shoulders, "Don't blame me just 'cause you weren't paying attention. Which reminds me, what were you saying about me earlier?"

Gunther sighed, "Brianna."

"Ah," Kick nodded solemnly, "What did that lovely sister of mine do this time?"

"You mean besides eat my funnel cake?"

"Ouch. Don't worry buddy, I'll buy one another one."

Gunther gave him a look of pure worship, "You're a good person, Kick."

"Well, what are friends for?" He brushed his nails against his jumpsuit as they headed towards the food court. "An since I'm an awesome friend I'm sure you wouldn't mind getting an extra-jumbo super-sized sloshie-"

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a familiar soccer jersey, but what caused him to actually turn and look was that the girl beside the current bane of his romantic life had brown hair instead of blonde and was being handed an extravagant rose he could've sworn was the same one Andre had been giving Kendall not 15 minutes earlier. And if that hadn't been enough to set his blood boiling, the kiss the stupid French captain gave the girl definitely was.

There was _no way_ he was going to let Andre break Kendall's heart and live.

* * *

 **Ugh… I can't stand drama. I get mild headaches from it. But what is a story without some? My sister says carefree. Surprisingly there's a lot of drama in middle school. I'm worried about her going into high school; both my brother and I never dealt with it growing up, but it seems our two younger sisters are going thru their fair share.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.  
Hello Everyone! Gawd finding your muse after you lose it is **_**hard**_ **…  
Last chapter I made a HUGE rookie mistake in not correcting Haley's name; before TXToonGuy1037 let me borrow her, her name was Sarah. Sorry about that.  
I don't think we'll have much longer till the end, but thanks so much those of you who take the time to read my writing! Enjoy!**

* * *

Kendall knew, in hindsight, that she probably should've been more prepared for the bloodbath she encountered. And yes, she was exaggerating a bit, but she felt it was justified because her best forward was attempting homicide on the boys' soccer goalie.

Actually that was more normal that the average outsider would think; maybe it was the result of the 'boys-vs-girls game' they had every year, but honestly it was getting a little old.

She winced as the girl let out an indignant screech; good lord… hadn't Haley said she was going to take care of them?

"I just can't leave you girls alone at all, can I?

"Kendall!" Her team squealed in excitement and promptly called off their assassination attempt. Surprisingly many of the boys seemed a bit despondent at being abandoned.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Have you been hiding from us?

"You _have_ haven't you!?"

"OMG that costume is so much better than the one we put you in when you first moved here!"

"Don't we still have pictures from that?"

"Yeah we do! And a _video_!"

Kendall sighed; how had their previous captain put up with them… "Please tell me you haven't gotten into _too_ much trouble?"

The girls looked at one another, "… Define 'too much'."

"… Why me?" She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Can I at least walk around and not worry about someone complaining to me?"

"… Well…"

"Nevemind. Boys, leave my girls alone."

"Hey don't look at us." One scoffed.

"Yeah! If anything you _owe_ us."

"I owe you nothing." She replied haughtily as she crossed her arms, "I don't know what Andre told you, but I'm more than sure that provoking my team wasn't it. So unless you would like me to talk _your coach_ into giving you _that_ drill, you better back off."

The girls watched in amusement as each and every one of the boys shot Kendall a look of horror. " _That_ \- but we- you can't-"

"And that's where you're wrong." She made a 'shoo-ing' motion, "Now run along."

"Hey don't pin all the blame on us!"

"Yeah! It's not our fault these two are about ready to jump each other!"

"HEY!"

"QUIET!" Kendall snapped, "If you boys aren't gone within the next 30 seconds I will personally-"

"Kendall!" Everyone turned at the frantic voice, "Oh my gosh, Kendall! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Haley? What-"

"You have to come quick! Andre and Kick are fighting!"

* * *

A sucker-punch to the face after sharing a sweet kiss with his girlfriend was, admittedly, something he never would've expected. It took him a moment to recover, but he was slightly surprised to find it had been Kick who had knocked him to ground, although it quickly wore off when he noticed the murderous expression on the daredevil's face. Judging by the look of its intensity, Andre was more than sure things had _not_ been cleared up. By anyone.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kick snapped.

"Look who's talking!" Andre retorted as he stood, "I'm not the one who punched someone for no good reason!"

"Oh I have a reason! And I'm going to make you regret the day you _ever_ thought Kendall wasn't enough!"

"Kick stop!" Gunther appeared behind is friend and grabbed Kick's arm, "You've got it all wrong!"

"You're not seriously siding with this jerk are you!?"

"You don't understand! They're not-"

"No, _you_ don't understand! I lost Kendall because of a stupid misunderstanding! And this guy is just _throwing her away_! _Willingly_!"

"Get off your high-horse you stupid moron," Andre hissed, only vaguely registering that Haley had disappeared. "If you did then maybe you'd-"

"Shut up!" Kick threw another punch that Andre swiftly dodged, "After I kick your sorry butt I'm going to make you get down on your knees as you _beg_ Kendall to forgive you!"

Andre scoffed; the daredevil was seriously pushing it. "Good luck with that; that surprise attack is the only hit you'll land on me." He got into a basic fighting-stance, "Just try it again and I'll beat you into the ground."

"Oh I plan too; only difference is you'll be the one getting their face shoved into the dirt!" Kick launched himself and Andre sidestepped him, aiming an uppercut to the jaw that Kick easily blocked.

"Kick stop!" Brianna suddenly appeared and ran for her brother.

"Brianna!" Gunther grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, "You'll get hurt if you-"

"I have to do something!" She cried as Andre landed an open palm hit to Kick's chest.

"Get a bucket of water!"

"A what?"

"Don't ask questions; just go!" She gave him a curt nod and ran off. "Kick!" He jumped back and narrowly avoided both Kick and Andre as they barreled towards him, "Kick! Andre! Stop! This isn't going to solve anything!"

"It'll sure as hell make me feel better!" Kick punched Andre across the face and sent him staggering, "Getting everyone to realize just what kind of person you are-"

"Shut up already!" Andre roundhouse kicked him in the chest, "You don't even know half of what's actually going on! Maybe if you'd get your head out of the ground you'd realize-"

" **Enough**!" Kendall suddenly appeared between them and shoved the boys apart; earning gaps from the crowd that had surrounded them. "Just what do you two think you're doing?!" They jumped up and began shouting at her.

"What's wrong with _me_?! I should be asking _you_ that!"  
"He attacked me out of nowhere!"  
"You seriously decided to _date_ this guy!?"  
"Kendall you better clear up everything right now because-"  
"Don't you talk to her like that!"  
"Don't tell me what to do!"

 **SPLASH**

"Oops…" Brianna whispered as the three teens blinked in surprise and looked down at their drenched clothes. She chucked the bucket behind her and ran to her brother, "Kick! Are you ok?"

"… I'm fine." He shot Andre a glare, "You better tell her or so help me-"

"Andre!"

"Haley?!"

She threw herself into her boyfriend's arms, "I got here as fast as I could! Did he hurt you? Is there internal bleeding? Lightheadedness? What about broken bones-"

"Hey, hey," He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes, "I'm ok."

"Why you-" Kick pulled himself away from his sister and stomped towards the couple, "How can you just flaunt yourselves in front of her like that?! Don't you have-"

 _ **BAM!**_

The crowd, and both soccer teams, let out collective gasps as a soccer ball suddenly nailed Kick in the head and knocked him to the ground. They turned to the girl's main goalie and she lifted her hands in innocence then quickly pointed to Kendall, who slowly lowered her foot (though it was obvious she was still tense) when it became apparent that she had struck the daredevil hard enough to knock him out cold.

"Do you guys think I have nothing better to do than be the adult whenever you get into trouble?!" She snapped.

"… Th-there was nothing adult-like about knocking someone out with a soccer ball!" Brianna stammered.

Kendall ignored her and looked at Andre, "Help me move him? I'm pretty sure Brianna's right about knocking him out."

"That's putting it mildly," Andre muttered as he lifted Kick from the ground and tossed him over his shoulder.

"All of you!" Kendall glared at the crowd and the two soccer teams, "Move along!"

Murmurs of worry, distaste and disappointment passed thru the large group as they slowly left, though some lingered a bit longer.

"Don't you guys have lives to get back too? _Leave_!"

She waited till the last straggler finally vanished before she turned to her small group of friends, "Lets go back to my house; his helmet absorbed most of the blow but I think we should check his head just in case."

"… You're talking this pretty well." Gunther commented. "Especially for someone who possibly gave their boyfriend a concussion."

"Not my boyfriend." She retorted as the group began their walk, "Currently he's the bane of my existence; I was having a lovely time till you guys showed up, no offence Bree."

Brianna tugged at her shirt, "… Yeah… None taken…"

Kendall raised an eyebrow at the timid response but turned back to Gunther, "Besides, I know how hard to kick a soccer ball if I wanted to give someone head trauma; regardless of protective headgear."

"… Remind me to never get on your bad side."

"Please," Andre scoffed, "This girl should come with a warning label."

"Says the big-brother who willingly provokes her…" Haley muttered.

"Quiet!" Kendall snapped as they turned a street corner to her neighborhood, "All of you! And stop acting like children! Now tell me _why on earth_ did you and Kick get into a fight, Andre?"

The soccer captain sighed, "He thought I was cheating on you."

" _What?!_ " Kendall and Haley screeched.

"Yeah, I know."

"Hey, I get that you and Kendall are only besties but don't say it with _that_ much disgust!" Brianna defended.

"Tch," Andre rolled his eyes, "You'd have the same reaction if someone said they thought you and Kick were dating."

"EW!"

"Exactly."

"There's no need to be perverted!" Gunther scolded.

"It was an example!"

"A really horrible one!"

"Enough!" Kendall stomped her foot and pointed to her house, inwardly surprised on how shot the walk had been, "Get inside, get some ice and then _leave_!" She caught the mischievous glimmer in Haley's eyes and quickly added, "And _no_ ; there will not be anything romantic going on and if you even _think_ within the next five seconds about teasing for _any_ reason I will make your soccer life _hell_! DO YOU GET ME?!"

The group nodded in unison as they cowered in fear.

"Good." Kendall gave them a (fake, it had to be fake; they could _feel_ the malice radiating from her…) warm smile and walked to her front door, "Come on in."

"Wow…" Gunther felt his mouth drop open, "Guess you traded up." It definitely seemed as if she had; while the outside of the house made it obvious it was a fairly large home it gave of a… well-off but humble vibe. The inside however…

"Why on earth do you have _Greek statues_ in here?!" Brianna gasped, "Is that actual _gold_ _lining_ on those archways?!"

Kendall shrugged, "My mom is a fan of their art and my sister loves pillars, archways and all that jazz. But no, we'd never be so tasteless and wasteful to use precious metals as house decorations. "

"Then why do you have silver spoons?" Haley teased.

"Family heirloom." She pointed to the leather couch, "Lay him down here, I'll get the ice."

Andre (somewhat) gently tossed the daredevil onto the furniture and stared along with the rest of the group as Kendall left the room. "Think one of us should stay with her? Just in case things get ugly?"

"I wanna say no, because despite everything, Kick and Kendall have never gotten violent with each other, but…" Brianna hesitated, "But… because of me they've kind of been backed into a corner…"

Haley placed a hand on Brianna's shoulder, "You did it because you wanted them to be happy and you thought the best way for that to happen was for them to confront each other."

"And look where that got us."

"It's not all bad," Brianna shot Gunther a glare and he lifted his hands in a show of peace, "I'm serious; I mean, sure these aren't ideal circumstances but this whole misunderstanding is finally getting cleared up."

"All of us are to blame for the misunderstanding," Andre sighed, "We should've done something about it sooner."

Haley nodded, "True, but we can't change anything. We have to accept what happened and hope that these two hardheaded, stubborn, pigheaded-"

"Using various synonyms to describe how difficult Kick and I are is a bit redundant, don't you think Haley?"

The group jumped in surprise as Kendall approached with a bag of ice, "Anything I should know about?" She teased gently then frowned when guilty expressions crossed their faces.

"Yes… sorta… kinda…" Brianna took a deep breath, "I think… we should talk, but not now. Not till you talk to my brother."

"Is that a good idea?" Haley whispered to her boyfriend as Brianna wrapped Kendall in a hug and bid her goodbye.

Andre shrugged, "Maybe; it's possible that if we tell her now she'll freak out and Kick will wake up then she'll tell him and they'll probably ignore the misunderstanding or if they don't, then it'll just blow up worse than an atomic bomb."

"… I… actually can't disagree with that…"

"I know you can't. Hey Kends?" He waited till she turned to him, "Do you need someone to stay around?"

She shook her head, "No; my sister's upstairs and I already made her aware of what's going on. If anything that she thinks I can't handle happens, she'll jump in."

Andre and Haley shuddered. "Don't ask." Haley commented at Brianna and Gunther's blank look.

"Ok…" Gunther shot a look at his (still) knocked out best friend, "We'll get going then, we can see ourselves out. Good luck."

Kendall smiled, "Thanks." She waited till the front door closed then snuck over to make sure they had left; one could never be sure with those four.

"Oh my stars- _thank you_!" She sighed in relief and headed back to the living room. As if she needed even more drama in her life; the past few days had been enough to last her a lifetime. How had she put up with everything as a child? Granted she and Kick had rarely interacted during Middle School but the few times they did was a nightmare-inducing headache.

She gingerly sat next to Kick's prone form and took off his helmet. "Ouch…" She mumbled; guess she hadn't been careful enough not to leave a welt. At least it wasn't as bad as the one she had given Andre when they had first met. Then again that had been an accident.

A sigh escaped her and she gently placed the bag of ice on the bump, "Moron. Why do I still put up with you?"

 _Because I still care_.

The answer was instant, unbidden and… not entirely unwanted. In the beginning she _had_ resented him she had always seen his stunts as him flaunting what she could never have. Even though he had no idea what she had gone through, she had needed someone to take her resentment out on. And even when things had been cleared but she was too far down her chosen path for her to change overnight.

But he had accepted her anyways.

Their tentative frienemy relationship became a romantic one that she still cherished in the deepest recesses of her heart despite what had happened. True, she was still mad at him because (seriously?) he had no right at all to 'come to her rescue'. Maybe he had repented; maybe something had brought them together so the she could finally move forward… but she was scared. Scared of what he had to say and what it could do to her.

Because for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what had she done that was so wrong for her to deserve what he did. Had she been so overbearing, despite her efforts to change, that he had given up on her? Had he realized just how damaged she was emotionally and had decided she wasn't worth his time? Someone who fought against the impossible when he believed it was worth the cause... was she so broken inside that she didn't deserve someone so genuine and positive?

That day… that day it had been as if the world had crumbled beneath her feet.

Her family had supported her decision, even though she hadn't told them the whole story, and then she found refuge in soccer and in her team. But obviously it had not been enough to ease the pain hidden deep within her heart.

Couldn't a few days (or years) pass for her to heal before she was confronted with this?

"Ngh…" She glanced down and she pulled the ice bag away as she watched his eyes slowly open then squeeze shut at the light. "My head… what happened?"

She couldn't help the smug grin that crossed her face; "I hit you in the head with a soccer ball."

"Soccer ball…?" He blinked a few more times to gain focus then stared at her for a moment before he shot her a glare, "Kendall! You could've given me a concussion!"

She rolled eyes "You don't have a concussion; I didn't kick it _that_ hard. Besides, even if you did you'd just bounce back like you always do."

"Oh, so you're some sort of expert now?"

"As a matter a fact," She replied haughtily despite his sarcasm, "Considering the amount of time I've put in to learning the sport, as well as my passion and dedication to it, I would say yes, I am."

He snorted; they both knew that he had been referring to her knowledge of him, but apparently she wasn't ready for the confrontation. There was no way he was going to let her ignore the situation, but she was more likely to respond if he let her bring it up rather than drop the ball on her. So for now he just had to be patient and guide the topic.

"How long have you been playing?"

"… Since I was five."

"Dang." He whistled, "Impressive. Though I've gotta say that I'm not too surprised."

"What?"

"That first day we showed up, you were playing on the field." He grinned and sat up, "It was pretty intense; watching you and your team."

She blushed, "Yeah well…"

"Don't be modest. I don't think I've seen a soccer player as awesome as you."

"Oh really?" She teased, "What was it you said once; that I wouldn't know awesome if it hit me in the face and said 'Hey look at me; I'm awesomeness'?"

"I was 10, Kendall." He justified.

"Not to mention super grumpy because you couldn't get on that one website… what was it again?"

"Yeah let's not go there." He held out his hand for the ice, "You doing ok?"

She scoffed but handed him the bag, "I'm not the one with a bump on their head."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Please," She waved him off, "It was necessary."

He stared at her for a moment; now as a good of a chance as any… "Maybe it was, but Kendall… you know why I got into a fight with him, right?" She stiffened, and he had to resist the impulse to reach out to her, "Because I can tell you that it was completely-"

"You're wrong."

He blinked, "Wrong? Kendall you're boyfriend-"

"Andre and I are not dating. We're just friends." She looked him straight in the eyes, "In fact that brown-haired girl you saw him with is his _actual_ girlfriend."

They stared at each other for a few moments, both inwardly suffocating at the sudden tension her confession had brought.

"… Someone could've told me that." He mumbled once the silence had become too much.

Kendall shrugged, and she couldn't help the slight bitterness in her tone as she spoke, "Well even if he and I were dating, which, again, we _aren't_ , it's one of your business."

"None of my business?" He gave her an incredulous look, "Kendall I care-"

She jumped from her seat and whirled on him, long festered hurt and anger radiating from her, "Don't you _dare_ say you care about me! Not after what you did!"

"Kendall-"

"NO! You have no right, absolutely _no_ _right,_ to act like some sort of knight in shining armor! To get into _my_ business and try to 'defend my honor'! Even if you're sorry and apologize, hell; even if you try and atone for what you did, you don't get to come in here with that kind of attitude."

He growled and stood up, towering over her slight frame and narrowing his eyes as she straightened her posture in silent defiance. "I never cheated on you! Shut up!" He snapped when she opened her mouth, "I had to listen to what you had to say so now you have to listen to me too!"

"I know what I heard Buttowski! In case you've forgotten, _I was there_!"

* * *

 _Kendall snuck behind the guards and let out a sigh of relief once she rounded the corner. Geez; security was so much more strict compared to the last time Rosetti had come to Mellowbrook. Of course, back then she was simply the stunt double of the teen sensation Tina Sometimes. She rolled her eyes; seriously, that show had been_ _so_ _overrated._

 _She looked around and spotted the trailer (or whatever they called those make-up room with wheels) a few paces away from her. If he caught her she could simply say she wanted to talk about her dad's offer to live with her mother and confess how she had been playing soccer on the sidelines and-_

 _Wow… she was probably worse than Jackie had been way back when; at least Jackie had been honest in her stalking._

 _Self-reproach at her actions mixed with conviction to put her heart at ease swelled within her chest; she had never wanted to be the insecure, jealous girlfriend… but she couldn't help it. Scarlett was 'awesome' and Kendall was just… the teacher's pet._

 _When they had started dating, Kick had made his feelings for her clear and she honestly felt irritated with herself for what she was doing. It wasn't as if she doubted him; Kick had an iron will and hardly anything could make him change his mind._

But that doesn't mean something won't eventually convince him. _Her traitorous mind whispered._

 _And she was so scared, so absolutely terrified that he would one day see that they weren't a good match and he would leave her for someone better suited for him. She was a practical girl at heart, and she knew she was being selfish; because if one day something happened and they could no longer be together (or even wanted to) then both of them had the right to move on without the other. That they had the right to be happy; to live life in a way they could enjoy_ _independently_ _._

 _But he_ _was_ _her happiness. He was a breath of fresh air when she felt like she was suffocating and the light despite the darkness and he had helped her become a_ _better person_ _._

 _She didn't want him in her life because she needed him; if anything she still held a bit of resentment towards him because he was a physical representation of a life she had willingly given up. But through him she had realized it was up to her to change and she wanted him around because she liked_ _him_ _, because she enjoyed being around him and talking to him and just… it just wasn't something she could put into words._

 _He had even said the same thing about her when she had asked._

 _Kendall smiled; it was one of her most precious memories and now that she thought about it, her actions were more than a little silly. Kick was a good person and she had felt the depth of his feelings in their very first mutual kiss and every single one after. She trusted him, and if some day in the far future after they had tried to make things work but had drifted apart anyways (but they wouldn't; she had faith in that) then the right thing would be to let go and move on._

 _But until then; she would cherish every moment with him and she would hold the most absolute confidence in him because he deserved that much from her._

 _She nodded to herself and turned away; now all she had to do was find a way back without running into security._

 _Voices suddenly drifted towards her and her heart skipped a beat as she recognized one of them. As she followed it she realized she was closer to the main road than she had originally thought (seriously, what was with the set up?). She shrugged; at least now if she ran into him she wouldn't look like some over-jealous, untrusting girlfriend. True she'd have to tell him later, but he'd understand once she explained herself. Being scolded for her 'misguided' opinion of herself was the least of her worries._

" _What about blondie?" A female voice teased, and Kendall tensed in response; a hand hesitantly reaching for her own golden locks._

" _Please," She heard Kick scoff, "I've had more than enough of her to last me a lifetime; she hasn't changed a bit."_

 _Her hand lowered to just below her collarbone as something tightened in her chest and she took a subconscious step back._

" _So… no interest whatsoever? I thought you were into her?"_

 _He laughed, "Nah. Honestly I just put up with her for my sister's sake; it's not worth getting on her bad side. Don't you remember anything from the last time you were here?"_

" _Can't blame me; you were making eyes at her."_

 _Kendall felt her hands clench and she suddenly found herself walking around the tapestry-prop that divided her from them._

" _I was not 'making eyes'," He mocked, "You couldn't_ _pay me_ _to deal with someone so absolutely annoying. Heck, not even the promise of my dream career would make the spoiled kid worth it. If I can help it, I couldn't be caught alive around her."_

" _That's a little harsh, don't you think?"_

" _You're asking me that?"_

" _Fair enough."_

 _Before she could take a step into their line of sight, Kendall hesitated as Scarlett suddenly adopted a shy expression._

" _So no girl in your life then?"_

 _Kick shrugged, and despite the fact she was standing behind him and couldn't see the look on his face, Kendall heard the smirk in his voice. He was…_ _flirting_ _with her?! "Well there is one girl I've got my eye on…"_

 _Scarlett visibly brightened, "Yeah?"_

" _Yeah; she's awesome. Pretty sure you've met her."_

" _Well…" Scarlett draped her arms around Kick's neck, "I think I might know who she is…"_

 _Kendall watched in absolute horror as Scarlett tugged him closer, eyes half-lidden as her lips parted to meet his. A cry suddenly escaped her and her hands flew to her mouth to stifle the sound, but the couple heard and turned towards her, eyes widening in surprise and panic._

" _Kendall-"_

 _His voice sliced through her and she shook her head slightly. It wasn't possible… Kick would never-but she had just witnessed- He took a step towards her and sudden terror seized her chest._ RUN RUN RUN! _Her mind screamed, and before she could question it she turned and_ _sprinted_ _._

" _Kendall wait!"_

 _No… NO! She wouldn't! Her heart wouldn't survive if she did! Her darkest fear had come true and now he wanted to throw it in her face a second time!? NO! She didn't deserve that!_

" _Kendall!"_

 _She increased her pace; he was a daredevil but she was a seasoned soccer player and she wouldn't let him catch up with her. No matter how far she had to run._

* * *

Even now the memory was painful, but she wouldn't let him see her tears.

" _You_ said you would never put up with such an infuriating brat! That you wouldn't be caught dead with me! Or am I wrong?"

He growled again, "You're not wrong, but you're not right either!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"It would if you'd just listen!"

They stared each other down when he suddenly sighed and all the outrage and indignation left him, leaving only exasperation and resentment, "I wasn't talking about you."

"Oh please," She scoffed, "Don't lie to me! I heard you-"

"We were talking about Tina!"

"…" She blinked, "W-what-"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Scarlett and Tina were going to shoot a post-apocalyptic action movie that fit in the 'Sometimes Universe', or whatever the fans call it, and they needed a stunt man for Tina's love interest and Brianna threated to _suffocate me in my sleep_ if I didn't accept!"

Kendall blinked; that… definitely sounded like something Brianna would do…

"I ran into Scarlett on my way to talk to the Director," He continued, "I was hoping they would give me a different part so I could still be in the movie and Brianna wouldn't kill me." They watched each other for a moment, "I- I tried to catch up to you, but…"

She nodded and looked behind him, "Yeah…"

"Look, Kendall… I didn't like her like that. I still don't, but I guess she-" He waved his hand in the air for a moment as he awkwardly searched for the words.

"Don't worry," She glanced at him then immediately looked away. "I get it."

"Oh- that's… good…"

Awkward silence settled over them till Kendall found it too suffocating to handle, "You should- you should go."

Kick looked at her in disbelief, "So that's it then?"

"Well what do you want me to say?" She shot back defensively.

"Oh, I don't know… How about 'I'm sorry'!?"

"WHAT!?" She hissed, "You can't seriously-"

"Don't give me that 'I'm the victim here' spinel," He took a step forward, "For three years, _three years_ _Kendall_ , I had to deal with the fact that you didn't trust me, that you ran away from me and that you just up and disappeared from everyone's life and that no matter what I did, no matter how hard I looked, _I couldn't find you_!"

His eyes were blazing with pent up heartache and outrage; chest heaving from shouting as well as the heavy emotion his words carried. Fists clenching and unclenching as he held himself back from taking his anger and grief out on the nearest inanimate object (because she knew that even now he would never hurt her). He _radiated_ righteous fury, and Kendall felt something in her chest tighten as she remembered the last time he had looked like this...

"If you had just let me-" He cut himself of and ran a hand over his head, stopping when he realized he wasn't wearing his helmet.

She pointed to the couch and watched quietly as he grabbed his headgear and placed it back on his head, "You were flirting with her-"

"I was talking about you." He looked at her, and Kendall was taken aback by the unadulterated _longing_ in his eyes, "I was describing you and I guess she took it the wrong way. You know… you haven't said my name once since we first talked."

She flinched. It was the one thing she hadn't been able to do; she could fall back on their old habits and petty rivalry but saying his name to his face would've brought back a new wave of nostalgia and she just wasn't ready to face it (to face _him_ ) as if they had never happened and she hadn't experienced the worse case of heartbreak in her life and-

"I know… " She stiffened as he continued, "I know that what you saw, what you might of thought, hurt you more than anything but…" He sighed, "You're not the only one who suffered for three years."

"… I-"

He shook his head and walked around her towards the front door and said in a voice so unfamiliar, a voice full of regret and broken promises and _anguish_ -"Good-bye, Kendall."

She didn't move; she couldn't bear to watch and as he, this time willingly, left her. As he walked away and took all the warmth he still filled her with every time she looked at him-

The door clicked shut, echoing along the empty halls, and the sound pulled her out of her daze. That was it then… There was absolutely no hope for them. No chance of a future where they could talk and enjoy life together and…

"Kendall?"

She looked up into her sister's worried eyes as she watched from the living room-kitchen doorway. A drop of water landed on her collarbone and she lifted her hand to her cheeks. _When did I-_ Her vision blurred and a sob was ripped from her throat. Her sister ran towards her just as Kendall's knees buckled, wrapping her arms around the heartbroken girl as they both fell to the ground.

"I liked him!" She cried, "I liked him so much! And he'll never- he'll never-"

Her sister only hugged her tighter; trying in vain to keep Kendall from breaking further as she cried for a chance she would never get back.

* * *

 **This was absolutely heartbreaking. I had to watch a bunch of movies and read a ton of books (both old and recent) to really get a feel and hopefully portray the emotion of heartbreak. My brothers and sisters were pretty worried the first time they caught me tearing up while I was typing.  
How did I do?  
Thanks sooo much for reading, reviewing, favoring and/or following! You guys are amazing!  
See you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.  
Hello Everyone! Thanks so much for your reviews! They mean a lot and always make my day. I had wanted to update this sooner, but being an adult who's in charge of a bunch of kids isn't easy.  
Hope you guys are ready for the back-to-back holidays we're gonna be getting!  
Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Back when he was a kid, there'd been this movie his parents had loved to watch; one of the main characters had been having a horrible day and, when things had gotten worse, had said he genuinely believed he had been cursed by celestial king himself.

It was a pretty accurate description on how he felt.

"You're an idiot."

Kick rolled his eyes, "Yeah I got that after the first 20 times you said it _five minutes_ after you got here."

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me young man!"

"We're the same age, Jackie- Ow!" He rubbed the back of his head, "Was that really necessary?"

"Don't know," She shrugged, "Are you going to stop being an idiot?"

"Jackie, these days I can't even _breathe_ without you thinking I'm being stupid!"

"That's because you usually are!"

Gunther lifted up a hand, "Uh, guys?"

"Stay out of this!" They shouted.

Jackie turned back to Kick and for a fleeting moment, he genuinely thought she had the power to incinerate him with her eyes, "Do I seriously have to play mother to all of you? Can't I go at least a _week_ without cleaning up after your messes?"

"Well," Brianna began, "If you think about it-"

"And YOU!" Jackie whirled on the pageant princess, " _You're_ supposed to be the _mature one_! What were you thinking?! Purposely adding fuel to the flames! GAH!" She threw her arms up and began pacing. "I was having a wonderful time at the festival, on the other side of the _country_ mind you, when my Gunther texts me about how you guys ran into Kendall and how she and Kick just won't get their heads out of their buttowski's and that little Miss. Brianna decided it would be ok to keep her brother in the dark about Andrea already having a girlfriend who is _not_ Kendall and-"

"Hey your boyfriend was a part of this too!" Brianna snapped.

Jackie gave her an overly saccharine smile, "And I will deal with him. But for now, I'll just spend my time reminding you THAT YOU'RE ALL IDIOTS!"

The group of three flinched back and Jackie simply growled at them before she began lecturing again.

"… Why are you dating her again?" Kick asked in a whisper.

Gunther shrugged, "'Cause I love her."

"Aww." They looked up in surprise as Jackie cooed for a moment, "While that was sweet, you're still getting an earful later."

"Yeah," He sighed, "I know."

She gave a curt nod and crossed her arms, "Now, first order of business; Brianna, Gunther, did ever occur to you to tell Kick about this… Haley the moment you found out about her?"

"Oh Jackie, my sweet blossom; who's voice is like a choirs of angels that descended-"

"We're not getting any younger!" Brianna snapped as Kick said, "Just get on with it buddy."

"I'm going to ignore your interruption of the praises I so rightly deserve*, mostly because I do need an answer to my question." Jackie gave her boyfriend an expectant look.

Kick shook his head as Gunther fidgeted. He was exhausted; he had fallen into a fit of sleep after he had gotten back to the cabin from Kendall's house and suffered from nightmares about her suddenly disappearing, their conversation, the devastated look on her face… _Then_ he had woken up to someone flipping his mattress over (with him still in it) so he could be dragged into the living room along with Gunther and Brianna at 4 _in the morning_!

Apparently, the ever doting boyfriend was unable to keep anything from his Viking goddess and now Kick's drama-filled life was her new 'project'. Fixation really, Jackie absolutely _had_ to have something to obsess over…

Yeah… someone had probably looked into his future and used his feelings to make that movie scene…

"Uh…" Gunther began, "Because … It… didn't come up?" He sunk into the couch as a wall of fire appeared behind his beloved, "I THOUGHT IT WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER IF KENDALL OR ANDRE TOLD HIM!"

The flames disappeared, "And why would think that?"

"Erm… Well first, I wanted to tell him too, but Kick was in a pretty bad mood; I had even pointed out that we didn't know for sure but he was just being a helmet-head** and stuff and then he was sulking-"

"I was not!"

"-After talking to Andre and the guy knew Kick wouldn't listen to him but I figured I'd say something after he calmed down but Brianna told me not to and I listened to her even though I knew it wasn't a good idea and-"

"Hold on," Jackie held up a hand and turned to Brianna, "Care to explain why you didn't want to tell them?"

His sister sighed in what sounded like exasperation and although he should've been more upset, Kick only felt a small trickle of irritation; he was too tired to deal with anything… why couldn't his ex-number-one-fan wait till _after_ he could function like a normal human-being rather than a zombie?

"Look, I know I should've handled things better, but I honestly believed that if they confronted each other they would be able to move on." She gave her brother a look then turned back to Jackie, "He'll deny it till we're all dead and maybe even after that, but he still misses her. Or at least hasn't coped with it yet. I thought I could take advantage of this; I mean, what are the odds that we would vacation in her new town? And before you say anything, yes, I did think about leaving it all alone but then I would've been the bad guy if someone found out I had purposely not said anything and it wouldn't matter if only one of them saw each other because then that person would've spent the rest of the trip avoiding the other and we don't know how things would've worked out and while I'm sorry that it turned out this way I won't apologize for making sure they met up!"

The rest of the group blinked. "Did you even breathe during that?"

"Ugh!" She threw her hands up, "Is that what you're focused on, Jackie? How long I can rant without pausing?"

The brown-haired girl shrugged, "Can't blame me for being interested. Anyways I see your point; Kendall's probably gonna fall in love with some guy with an accent and run off into the sunset with him because _this_ idiot's too stubborn to fight for her."

Kick scoffed, "Thanks for putting that mental image in my head."

"Planning on doing anything about it?" He looked away and she rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I'm gonna keep doing that till you realize you need to fight for the best thing that's ever happened to you."

"Me too."

"Geez sis," He drawled, "It almost sounds like you care."

"Oh be quiet."

Gunther shook his head, "You're all acting like children."

"Excuse me!"  
"Like you're one to talk!"  
"You're kidding right?"

"Well you are!" He defended, "Jackie, my exquisite enchantress, I know you want to help set us on the straight and narrow but we're about to graduate high school; we know what we did wrong and we're sorry so while I see where you're coming from, we don't need to be lectured."

He turned to the Buttowski siblings, "Brianna, you had good intentions but your part is over; all the dirty laundry has been aired out and now it's up to Kick and Kendall to decided where they want to go from here. If one or both of them decides to be a helmet-head then you can't do anything about it. And Kick," He paused for a moment then shook his head, "Whatever you decide, I hope you don't regret it someday."

The girls, plus Kick, watched in silence as Gunther stood up and left the room.

"… I hate to say this…" Brianna began after a moment, "But he's right."

Jackie sighed, "Yeah. Sorry for making things worse."

"I'm too tired to deal with all this…" Kick ran a hand down his face and Brianna nudged him with her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm about to apologize here."

"Yeah well… I'll probably find the energy to be mad at you after I take a good nap."

"And that's my cue to leave," She hopped up from the couch, but shot him a grin that he returned as she left. Maybe it was the exhaustion, but he had a feeling she hadn't meant to actually hurt anyone.

"Your sister's a good kid." Jackie commented after a while.

He shrugged, "I know, she just has a funny way of showing it."

"I'm pretty sure that's how all siblings are. But I'm an only child, and so is Gunther, so really all I got as an example is you two. And Brad. But I don't really think he counts since he's at university."

"Pretty sure no one saw that coming."

Jackie laughed, "Yeah, but the only reason he's working hard is because he wants to become the CEO of that Tankini Lumberjack thing."

"Motivation is motivation, I guess."

"True," She moved over to the couch and sat beside him, "I don't mean to pry- well actually I do- but any idea where you're gonna go from here?"

Kick shrugged, "Honestly? I'm kinda at a loss right now. I mean, I imagined plenty of scenarios where we'd run into each other again and what I would say or what she would do but… in the end, that's all they were; some made up daydreams that I didn't think would _actually_ happen. And now that it has…"

He trailed off and Jackie watched him curiously for a moment, "Then why did you? Dream about it I mean."

"I don't know… Hope? Because part of me wished it would? I just…" He rubbed a hand over his helmet, "I really liked her, Jackie. I know that if the roles had been reversed I probably would've been upset about it too but I don't think I would've run away and not given her a chance to explain."

"What exactly happened all those years ago and what's been going on here?"

"Didn't you say Gunther kept you updated?"

"He doesn't know everything, Kick. Tell me what happened."

Her tone wasn't demanding, or condescending and _gawd_ everything had just been so _exhausting_! Had it really only been two weeks when he had first laid eyes on her on the soccer field? It felt like so much longer, and the drama was more likely to send him to an early grave rather than the daily stunts he performed. And seriously, he needed someone to talk too, if only to get rid of the stupid cloud he'd felt hovering over him since the vacation started…

He sighed, made himself comfortable and told Jackie everything.

* * *

"I still think you're an idiot."

Kick scowled, "Good to know how much I can count on you as a friend."

"Lighten up," Jackie flicked his helmet, "I actually think, from what you've told me anyways, that it went pretty well considering its you two."

"… What do you mean?"

"She could've pretended Andre was actually her boyfriend just to get back at you. But apparently she's not that petty."

"Yeah well, it didn't have to be her to tell me."

"True. Brianna probably hoped it would get Kendall to talk to you and help you guys sort everything out." She narrowed her eyes at the wall over Kick shoulder, "Obviously that didn't work out."

He snorted, "You're telling _me_ that?"

"Spare me the attitude, Kick. Anyways, I'm just saying it could've been worse."

"It also could've been better."

"Yeah. But it is what it is, and honestly, you're both just being stupid. Why can't you just say you're sorry?"

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa_ ," Kick sat up and shot her a glare, "Why do _I_ have to be the one to apologize? She's the one who jumped to conclusions!"

"I know, but-"

He shook his head, "No! I did everything I could to show her how important she was to me, how meaningful our relationship was, but it didn't matter... because in the end she didn't trust me, she wasn't willing to listen to me, hell, she _ran away_ from me! It's been three years and even though I don't think about it every second of the day like I did in the beginning… it still _hurts_.

"And now, on top of all that I had to suffer through almost two weeks of torture just so my sister could play matchmaker? I know she's sorry and that she genuinely thought she was helping, but couldn't she have let us deal with it in our own time? Even if it turned out to be a few more years from now? Because honestly, I'm just about done with everything."

Jackie blinked in surprise as Kick sank into the couch cushions; exhaustion and frustration radiating from him. Poor guy; she felt for him honestly. Life (along with his friends and family) hadn't exactly been nice to him in the ways of romance. She sighed; it went against all kinds of Best Friends Codes had, but… with the way things were going, there was a chance neither one of them would _ever_ make the effort to talk to each other again. Maybe… maybe he would be more open to the idea if he knew…

She stayed silent for a while after he finally calmed down, and eventually felt his gaze on her. She still wasn't sure about telling him, and she prayed that the Viking gods would have mercy on her for what she was about to do… but it was in the name of love! It had to be permitted! So she signed and turned to him.

"I'm only gonna tell you this because I'm sure she's torn up about finding out that it's her own fault that she lost you. But I also think it's gonna help you understand her and why she reacted the way she did."

He blinked.

"We all know Kendall is super confident in herself and that sometimes, that can make her look snobby but in the end she's got a good heart." She paused and thought about her next words, "She's also pretty big on appearances, so it doesn't surprise me that you had no idea what was going on before that happened. I'll bet my favorite set of clogs that she never said anything because she didn't want to look bad or have anyone think less of her."

"Jackie-"

"Shush and let me explain. _Without_ interruptions." She waited until he sighed and nodded. "Kendall had already talked to me about this before, not in specifics, but like in general terms. That day we were hanging out and we overheard some people…"

* * *

" _So I hear Scarlett Rosetti's back in Mellowbrook."_

 _Kendall looked away from her ice cream as a couple entered the parlor and ignored her friend to shamelessly eavesdrop on the conversation the two people were having as they approached the counter._

" _Oh that's awesome!" The girl squealed, "I absolutely_ _loved_ _watching her and Tina Sometimes back when I was younger!"_

 _The guy laughed, "What do you mean 'back when you were younger? You still watch it!"_

" _She's just so super cool! She's one of the biggest names in the movie business! And not just any genre; she's part of the RomAct field! That means Romantic Action by the way"_

" _Romantic… Action?"_

" _Yes!" The girl grabbed his arm and jumped up and down, "Movies that have equal parts romance and action, they had to come up with a whole new category for it! Kinda like RomCom. Did you know she does her own stunts? She's just that awesome!"_

 _Kendall turned her attention away from the conversation and back to her ice cream._

" _You do know what they say about say about eavesdroppers, right?"_

 _She looked up and gave Jackie a smile, "What do you mean?"_

" _Oh please," The brown-haired girl rolled her eyes, "Like you could hide that 'kicked puppy' look from me."_

" _I do not look like-"_

" _Yes you do. I can_ _feel_ _the hopelessness and despair radiating from you."_

"… _Using various synonyms to describe how you think I'm feeling is redundant."_

" _Nuh-uh!" Jackie pointed at Kendall with a scolding look, "Don't try to distract me; I have the worst one-track mind you'll ever come across."_

" _A pity really." She shot her friend a grin. "Hard to believe that a few years ago you thought I was your biggest love-rival and I just thought you were annoying."_

 _Jackie giggled, "I know, but that was before I found handsome hunk of Viking_ _man_ _!"_

" _Oh don't let him hear you say that," Kendall shot her friend a wink, "He'll go all mushy love-brain on you."_

" _It's ok to be a bit jealous you know."_

 _Kendall stiffened, "I am_ _not_ _jealous!" She hissed._

" _It's a good thing I'm the one witnessing this," Jackie continued, pointedly ignoring her friend's scalding glare, "Brianna would just tease you till you blew a gasket and honestly, I'm an expert on dealing with the infamous green-eyed monster."_

" _I told you, I'm not-"_

" _Yeah, yeah; you could swear on the moon and the stars and I still wouldn't believe you."_

 _Kendall sighed; Jackie was (at best) difficult, but she could put the most challenging meddler to shame when she wanted to. There was no point in getting into a full-blown argument, but she wasn't about to give her friend the upper hand, "I'm not jealous; I'm simply wondering what brings a big name like Rosetti to Mellowbrook."_

" _She's been here once already."_

" _Yes, but that was-"_

" _Before you and Kick became an item?" Kendall blushed and Jackie nodded solemnly, "Thought so; and it's normal to feel that way when the guy you have feelings for had a mutual attraction with someone else, no matter how long ago it was."_

 _Another sigh escaped her, "Jackie… I know it sounds petty and unreasonable but… she's everything I'm not; she's outgoing, reckless, heck, she's even_ _famous_ _now!"_

" _How exactly does that make her better than you?"_

" _She's a daredevil!" Kendall threw her arms up, "She performs stunts for a living and-"_

" _And she's not you."_

" _Stop interrupting! It's getting annoying! Not to mention rude!"_

" _Scarlett may be a daredevil," Jackie continued, "But as far as I know, and keep in mind I know_ _everything_ _, she's not the state's MVP for soccer and definitely hasn't been it for the last 3 years running." She leveled Kendall with a look, "Everyone has their good and bad points, but all of them are_ _different_ _; she may be reckless with her stunts, but I've never seen a more reckless soccer player in all the hours I spent looking at videos and researching the sport and its history."_

"…"

" _Speechless? Yeah I thought so."_

" _More like concerned," Kendall corrected, "You looked the_ _entire history_ _of soccer?"_

 _Her comment was ignored, "You are talented_ _in your own way_ _; you're just as outgoing and just as awesome as she is in a way that is unique to_ _you_ _. So don't just sit here and compare yourself to her, because Scarlett is Scarlett and you are you."_

"… _But what if Kick doesn't see it that way?"_

" _Oh please," Jackie waved the concern away, "A blind man sitting in a dark room hidden in the most secluded, underground cave while he's blindfolded-"_

" _The blindfold is redundant if he's blind, Jackie."_

" _-Could see that Kick Buttowski is absolutely smitten with one Kendall Perkins. And honestly, I don't think that's going to change." Kendall shook her head, but there was a small grin on her face and Jackie couldn't help but smile._

" _Thanks, Jackie. I needed that."_

 _The brown-haired girl shrugged, "My awesome wisdom is here for you when need it."_

" _I know, I just… I can't help it. I've always had too much time to think, and sometimes I wonder if I'm really the girl Kick actually wants."_

" _He wouldn't put the effort in if you weren't Kendall."_

"… _He's done things he doesn't like for the sake of others before."_

 _Jackie crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat as she thought for a moment, "… Maybe you should talk to him about it."_

" _What?!" Kendall shot her a panicked look, "I can't do that!"_

" _Why not?"_

" _Because!"_

"… _Because…?"_

 _Kendall threw her arms up, "Jackie! Do you have any idea-"_

" _I'm just gonna interrupt you and say I think you don't want to look bad in front of him." The blonde stiffened and Jackie gave a solemn nod. "Yeah, I thought so."_

"… _It's not just… I… I don't- want him to think… differently of me..."_

 _Jackie tilted her head in curiosity; it had sounded as if Kendall had physically fighting to get the words out. Which she probably was; Kendall was a proud person. To her, allowing others to see how insecure she could be was the equivalent of throwing her dignity and self-respect out the window._

 _Kendall took a deep breath, "I can't think of anything worse... than having the person you care about the most… throw the things you hate about yourself in your face…"_

"… _Do you really think Kick would do that?" Kendall shook her head and Jackie couldn't help but frown, "Then why-"_

" _Knowing that he wouldn't, doesn't stop me from being afraid that I might lose him."_

 _They sat in silence for a while. Both of them lost in their thoughts. Jackie was only vaguely aware that her cup of ice-cream had melted before she spoke, "I think… that acknowledging your fear is a good thing. That maybe you're not ready to confront your inner demons_ _today_ _, but that you'll need to work on gathering the courage to do it someday. Because if we hold onto it for too long, then it'll end up holding us back and we'll never be able to make a better future for ourselves."_

"… _When did you get so wise?"_

 _She grinned, "It's in my blood."_

" _Oh yeah sure," Kendall laughed, "Thanks for the advice. But now that I think about it, I haven't talked to Kick all day. I wonder what he's up too."_

" _Oh he went the movie set," Gunther said as suddenly appeared and sat down at their table, "Said he had to talk to somebody. Oh cool! Melted ice cream! Can I eat that?"_

 _Jackie blinked then shifted the cup towards her boyfriend and glanced at Kendall as worry settled in her gut; her friend had gone pale and looked positively stricken._

" _The… movie set?"_

" _Yeah, the one that Scarlett's company set up near the rail-yard? You guys remember her right?" He asked through a mouthful._

" _Swallow before you talk, Gunthy." Jackie muttered absently. A thought suddenly occurred to her, "Wait, why you aren't with him?"_

 _He shrugged, "I offered, but he said it was ok if he went alone. Hey, where you headed Kendall?" He asked as the girl stood up from her seat._

" _Oh, I just… I need to go to the library." She smiled but quickly turned away and pretended to fuss over her purse._

" _Kendall-"_

" _I'll see you later, Jackie. Thanks for hanging out with me."_

" _But-"_

" _I'll call you later, kay?"_

"… _You sure-"_

" _Yeah, I'm sure. Enjoy your ice-cream. See ya!"_

* * *

"Honestly that was the last time I saw her."

"…"

Jackie looked away from the ceiling and raised an eyebrow at Kick's dumbfounded expression. "Yeah," She drawled, "I was pretty blown away when I heard your story too, but now I gotta find my best friend and gently knock some sense into her."

"Don't you touch her!" Kick suddenly snarled.

"… Protective much?" She rolled her eyes, "I said ' _gently_ ', mind you, and I'm pretty sure it would do her some good to have someone to vent too."

Kick sighed, "Sorry, I'm just… on edge right now."

"I can tell. So I'm just gonna let you take that nap, and don't worry; I won't go looking for her just yet." She patted his shoulder then stood up, "I won't push you about this, not today anyways, but I do suggest you think about everything. I'll talk to you later."

He waited for the sound of the front door closing before he flopped down onto the couch. Gah! So much for a relaxing vacation… it had been shot the moment his parents had picked out the stupid town.

A sigh escaped him; Jackie's story had been… eye opening. He never would've pegged Kendall as a person with low self-esteem. Or maybe it had just been with him. Still, she could've talked to him about; he would've understood considering he had often felt worried she would want someone less ruff-and-tumble and more classy like she was.

Then again, he never would've admitted anything like jealousy or doubt or anything of the sort, so he could relate a bit in that…

He sighed again. _Gawd_ , when had everything gotten so complicated?!

* * *

Kendall looked up as someone knocked on her door then smiled when her sister poked her head in, "Hey Kends, how you feeling?"

She hadn't bothered getting ready for the day, which had become a small habit on her lazy days, but she suspected her family would find it odd she hadn't gotten up for soccer practice. Still, the idea of facing anyone after what had happened… Her arms hugged her knees closer to her chest. "I'm fine Linnie***, really."

"And normally, I'd believe you. Only problem is that you haven't left room for almost 24 hours." Kendall shook her head and looked back out the window, which earned a sigh from her sister, "You don't have to face this alone."

"… I know." She whispered.

Linnie stepped into the room and shut the door, "Mind if I sit with you?" Kendall shrugged, which her sister took as invitation to perch herself at the end of the bed. "Do you feel like talking about it?"

"… Not really… but…" She bit her lip then sighed, "I… I just…"

"You don't want to hold it all in at the same time?" A sad smiled crossed Linnie's face as Kendall buried her head in to her knees, "I remember that. It was like, how could've you let everything get so crazy? Why didn't you listen to anyone? Why you? How could you have been so… _stupid_."

"… Your situation was slightly different from mine, Linnie."

"I know, but I'm guessing similar ones have been going through your head?"

"Some…" She muttered.

"Heartbreak comes in many different forms, and some are easier to handle than others." Linnie reached over and brushed Kendall's bangs from her eyes as the younger girl lifted her head slightly, "But in the end, it's still heartbreak. Some people can go through it alone, others need support and then there's the one who flat out refuses to heal or move on and they become bitter old cat people."

Kendall scoffed but the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, "Don't worry, Lin. I doubt I'll become one of those."

"Oh~ I don't know~" Her sister sang, "You've already got Hansel, and you know what they say, 'you can't stop at just one'."

"That's a slogan for chips!"

Linnie stuck her tongue out and the two girls burst into laughter. It was… a bit of a relief, not to think about her tragic love life (or lack of actually), and being able to spend time with her sister was always a plus. Despite living with her mother again, one of the prices of a seven year difference was that Kendall and Linnie couldn't really spend as much time together as they wanted. One of them was a full-fledged adult after all.

"I miss you." She muttered through her chuckles.

Linnie smiled, "I miss you too. I kinda wish I had stayed with you rather than go into that advanced high school program just so I could get into university sooner. I probably could've kept you from going through all that…" She shook her head, "I was always too ambitious for my own good."

"Yeah well, we're both guilty of that." Kendall snorted.

 _ **BAM!**_

They jumped in surprise as something slammed into the window, "Holy freakin'-" Linnie's surprised expression quickly morphed into disbelief, and Kendall felt her own mouth drop open as Jackie Wackerman blinked at them through the glass. The brown-haired girl shrugged and pulled out a pen and notebook.

 _Open?_

"Hell no!"

"Linnie-"

"Oh don't even!" Her sister scoffed, then turned back to the window, "Who the hell are you?!"

 _BFF from Mellowbrook._ They read. _Can I come in now?_

"Couldn't you have knocked on the front door?!"

 _Would you've let me see Kendall?_

"How on earth is _this_ supposed to be any better?!"

' _Cause now she knows I'm here. And that there's no escape._

Kendall face-palmed, "Lin… just… let her in."

"What?!"

"She's a Wackerman."

Linnie blinked, looked back at Jackie, then her sister and then at Jackie again. "… Please tell me you're joking."

"I wish…"

She sighed and pulled the clasp.

"Took you long enough," Jackie muttered as she stepped through the open window, "Making me wait so long. The nerve of some people."

"Oh that's rich coming from you." Linnie scowled, though its intensity was lessened by the smile threatening to burst forward, "You're just as bad as your cousin."

Jackie perked up in interest, "You know my cousin!? Wow, I totally need the details on that. But for now, I have been in the city for over 14 hours and haven't bothered you and let's be honest, that's a record for me, so considering I'm here and all you gotta tell me everything."

"Hi, Kendall. Good to see you after all this time. How've you been?"

Jackie nodded solemnly, "What you said. Now spill."

"Just like her cousin…" Linnie muttered.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You would," Kendall scoffed, "And no; considering its you, you've probably interrogated both Buttowski's, Gunther and possibly Andre and Haley so I don't really think you need to know more."

"Kendall, Kendall, Kendall; for your information I actually haven't bothered Andre or his girlfriend, although I must say they make a cute couple. Not to mention their families have really good taste in décor, but you probably already knew that since my sources tell me you visit their houses often."

Jackie ignored the incredulous looks and settled herself against the headboard, "Anyways, I really did miss you."

Kendall gave her a rueful smile, "If you wanna avoid a Wackerman, you've gotta think like a Wackerman."

"Ah. So that's how I was never able to find you."

"I think I'll leave you girls alone," Linnie stood up and gave them both a smile, "You've obviously got a lot to catch up on, but do me a favor and don't get over excited; it'd be pretty hard to explain how the house got destroyed."

"See ya sis,"

"Nice meeting you!" Jackie called as Linnie opened the door, "I'll stop by to talk to you later!"

"Yes, I'm sure you will. Bye."

"I like your sister," Jackie commented once they were alone, "She's a lot like you."

"So I've been told."

"Hmm. Anyways…"

Kendall sighed, "Yeah, yeah, 'resistance is futile' and all that jazz. It started almost two weeks ago while I was at soccer practice…"

* * *

Jackie whistled in slight awe, "Dang, I commend you for dealing with all that."

"Yeah well, it hasn't been easy."

"I can tell. Where are you gonna go from here?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure."

Jackie raised an eyebrow, "You could try talking to him."

"Oh god…" Kendall groaned and flopped face first onto her pillow, "Hm hmnt ehmn nh eph heh hmts hm hmph hm hm."

"Of course he'll want to talk to you!"

"Hmn hmnt nh hmt!"

"Of course I do! I know everything!"

"HMMMM!"

"Oh stop being so dramatic."

Kendall turned her head and shot Jackie a glare, "I'm pretty sure I have the right to be."

"You can only pull that off with certain people. And since I'm your Mellowbrook bestie, I'm only following Chapter 5, Subsection D, Paragraph 6."

"Great…" Kendall muttered, "Because I totally need you to be unsympathetic right now."

"I'm pretty sure everyone else is giving you enough pity to last a life time."

"Look, was Kick an idiot? Yes, yes he was. But so were you. Both of you are being a couple of helmet heads and honestly, I'm not sure how everyone is putting up with- what's so funny?

Kendall shook her head as she tried to muffle her laughter, "I- I haven't- god it's been years! HAHAHAHA! I haven't heard that since summer after 9th grade! HAHAHAHA!"

Jackie chuckled, "Yeah I guess it could cause a riot, makes you feel kinda nostalgic too though, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Kendall breathed, her smile lessening slightly, "A bit."

"You should apologize."

Kendall sat up and hugged her pillow to her chest. It was her own fault that she lost one of the best things that had ever happened to her. That she had lost her friends. Yet, she had also gained so much; she had her team, both her parents, her sister… Yes, she was sorry for how things had ended, but she would never regret the life she had gained.

Still, it was only fair; she knew Jackie was right, even before her friend had showed up she had been aware of what needed to be done to make things right. After all, she had been the one who had jumped to conclusions, had let her own insecurities get the better of her. But…

"What if he doesn't accept it?"

Jackie shrugged, "Would you mean it if you did apologize?"

"Of course!" She defended.

"Then the only think you'll be able to do is wash your hands of it."

"Wash my- what do you-"

"Well what exactly are you supposed to do to prove that you're sorry? Get down on your hands and knees? Kendall, I don't know just how much you've changed since I last saw you, but I do remember that getting an apology out of you, a _sincere_ one, was like pulling teeth." Jackie shook her head, "I'm not saying you shouldn't feel a little bad, because what happened really sucked, but I don't think you should let it consume you.

"Kick's not the type of person who would try and manipulate your feelings, some people do that you know, so I think that if he decides he needs time to eventually accept your apology you should just accept it. I mean, yeah it'd be nice if he got over everything right away, but we're not in some story written by some starry-eyed school girl who believes years of emotional suffering can suddenly disappear with a single heartfelt apology. Does that work for some people? Who knows, but it's rare so you should always hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Seriously, think about it for a sec, what more could you do to prove that you're sorry?"

"… I don't know…" Kendall said slowly.

Jackie crossed her arms as she leaned back, "Here's an example, when you lose someone's trust you don't just apologize over and over again or give them stuff or take them out to gain it back do you? No, you prove it every day in both small and big things, with actions that demonstrate it in a humble way rather than using your words to shout it from the rooftops. Not only that, you deal with their distrust because, guess what buddy, that's the consequences of your actions."

"Yeah…" Kendall sighed, "I guess so."

Jackie gave her a rueful smile, "It's not gonna be easy Kendall, but you shouldn't let guilt or fear keep you from moving forward. And if things turn out ok, there's a chance that everything you had to go through was worth it."

They sat in silence for a while, reflecting on the situation, the truth of Jackie's words… Another sigh escaped her. In the end it was her choice, and while one part of her wanted Kick to be the one who apologized (the more petty side), she knew that it was time for her to own up to her mistakes and be the bigger person. She really had no one to blame but herself, and even if he didn't forgive her right away, she would show him she had changed.

"I'll talk to him after the game tomorrow."

"Hmm?"

"Tomorrow's the Summer Spectacular's Boys' vs Girls' Soccer Game. I know he saw me play the first day they got here, but I'm pretty sure it was more at the end. I know it'll seem like I'm trying to impress him, like I'm trying to manipulate his opinion, but I want him to see that I'm not the same girl he knew, that I'm different. I want him to see how much this part of my life means to me. That even though I was prepared to guard this secret with my life back in Mellowbrook, I'm willing to share it now; I'm willing to let him be part of my world and that I want to be part of his too if he'll have me."

"… Wow."

Kendall raised an eyebrow and shot Jackie a mischievous grin, "Speechless? Yeah, I thought so."

"Oh wipe that smug look of your face!" Jackie laughed and threw a pillow at her friend. "Did you seriously wait three years to say that back to me?"

"Pft, no. I'm not _that_ petty anymore."

"I'll take your word for it," Kendall smiled as Jackie stood up and stretched, "I'll be sure to drag everyone to your game, so no worries about that."

"Don't go all super fan on me again. I don't think I could take the embarrassment."

"You love it." Jackie teased as she headed towards the door.

"Yeah, about as much as I love a toothache."

Jackie laughed "See you later. Oh and Kendall," She turned back just before she crossed the threshold, "I'm pretty sure you won't need it, but… good luck tomorrow."

Kendall smiled, "Thanks."

* * *

 ***Gunther has a tendency to spoil Jackie. She's genuinely enjoys his poems or sonnets about her.  
**Just a bit of comic relief; it means being a stubborn blockhead.  
***Sandro Cosaro confirmed on his Twitter account that Kendall's older sister was going to be named "Linnie" but since the show was canceled she'll remain an unseen character. On his Facebook he states she's tall and blonde.  
So… much… teenage… drama! This chapter wasn't supposed to be so long but it kinda got away from me. Maybe the dialogue? Wasn't planning on ending it here either ; totally wanted to stop at a completely different scene, but it wouldn't work if I did. Or maybe it ended too abruptly… Tell me your thoughts!  
See you next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.  
Thank you so much for your reviews! Work and home have just been kicking my buttowski lately (ignore the pun) so I apologize for taking so long to post this. I hope you enjoy the chapter! And a thanks too ****TXToonGuy1037 who let me borrow his OC Julie for some comic relief.**

* * *

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"Then wipe that smug look off your face."

"Please," Kendall scoffed, "Like you can blame me."

"GO HALEY! WHOOOOOOOOO! YOU GOT THIS SIS! SHOW THOSE BOYS WHO THE _REAL_ SOCCER STARS ARE!"

"We _talked_ about this!" The pile of duffle bags groaned, "How could Julie _do_ this to me?!"

Kendall looked towards the stand and smiled as a red-headed girl waved a banner excitedly, "Because she's an amazing older sister who loves you very much."

"I hope you remember that when _your_ super-fan shows up!"

" _My_ sister happens to be a wonderful person who would _never_ publicly humiliate me."

"Oh I don't know about that Kends," One of the girls commented as she pointed to the other end of the field, "Looks like your Linnie's got more than enough spirit for the whole town."

"GO KENDALL GO! GO LADY-PIRATES! LET'S SHOW THESE BOYS WHO'S BOSS!"

"… Is she dressed as a _cheerleader_?!" Kendall screeched.

"Who's the embarrassed one now?"

"Shut up and make room!"

"Oh no you don't!" Haley's head popped out of the pile, "You had your chance to be the supportive best friend, and since you blatantly ignored it I have every right to refuse my own assistance."

"My sister is being just as embarrassing! We're in the same boat here!"

"Well I don't want you on my ship!"

"BE LOUD BE PROUD BE _POSITIVE_! LET'S GO LADY-PIRATES WHOO-HOO!"

Haley ducked back in to her 'fort', "They teamed up..." She groaned, "Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?"

Kendall sighed and sat on the bench, she had a feeling Jackie had something to do with the team's new… cheerleaders. It was probably to keep her from focusing on Kick once he arrived (and he would, Jackie had promised as much), but she could live without the humiliation…

"Don't sweat it," She looked up as Brianna took a seat beside her, "I'll keep them in line."

She eyed her friend's outfit, "… And just how did Jackie rope _you_ into this?"

"I plead the fifth."

"You guys seem to use that excuse a lot." The duffel bags commented.

"Uh, have you _met_ Jackie?"

"Touché."

Kendall blinked, "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday night," Haley's head appeared, "I was hanging out with Andre and she just kinda showed up."

"That girl is going to be the death of me…" Kendall groaned.

"Yeah," Brianna nodded solemnly, "We love her though."

"I'm pretty sure that's the only thing keeping her alive."

"I can only imagine what you must think of me then," Haley stuck her tongue out and winked at them, "Hopefully I won't have to fight her for the title of your best friend."

The three of them simultaneously imagined Jackie decked out in a Viking battle suit, brandishing a sword and shield as she stood ran towards a defenseless Haley. They shivered.

"I don't think we should hang out anymore," Brianna gave them a grave look, "I value my life too much."

"Glad to know we mean that much to you."

"Oh be quiet Kends," Brianna laughed.

"I agree with the pageant queen,"

"Third year running, thank you very much."

"I can't die before I marry Andre," Haley continued, "So sorry Kendall, we're gonna have to end our relationship here."

"You guys are mean!"

"But you love us!" They sang.

"Which makes me question my own common sense…" She sighed but shot them a smile to show she was teasing. Friends like them were one in a million and Kendall considered herself super lucky that she had them in her life.

"So do you have a plan?"

"Please, Brianna." Kendall flipped her hair, "I _always_ have a plan."

"Like running away because of a misunderstanding?" Jackie asked.

"GAH!" They all shouted, "WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?"

"Well my beloved friends, that's a conversation that's normally referred to as 'the birds and the bees'."

"JACKIE!"

"I'm just saying," She shrugged.

"You- you just-" Kendall pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "You are probably the most difficult person I have ever met."

"I think sassy is better way to describe it." Brianna muttered.

"Hey," Haley looked around in confusion, "I thought you were supposed to bring Kick?"

" _ **JACKIE!**_ "

"Speak of the daredevil and he shall appear," The brunette winked at them and turned around, "Yes Kick?"

Everyone looked up and stared incredulously as Kick was wheeled towards them by a group of kids on a red wagon. "Jackie I swear I will _end_ you!"

"Hey! No threats on the soccer field!" Haley scolded.

" _She's_ not the one who has to be tied up!" He struggled against the rope, "Is this really necessary?"

Jackie shrugged, "It's just a precautious method to keep you from running away."

"I wouldn't have run away!"

"Yes you would've,"

"No I wouldn't!"

" _Yes_ , you would."

"No!"

"Yes!"

Haley leaned towards Brianna and whispered, "Has she always been this crazy?"

"Kinda. But I don't remember her kidnapping him before."

"That's because this is for the sake of love!" Jackie suddenly swooned, "Two broken hearts brought together by fate*! That they may heal and rekindle the flames of passion-"

"Hey lady! We're still waiting for those $10 you said you'd pay us if we brought this guy here!" A kid suddenly shouted.

"Oh right," She reached into her pocket and handed each of them their money, "Now run along; if I need you again I'll be sure to contact you."

"… You bribed a group of children?"

Jackie rolled her eyes, "Any better ideas on how to get them to listen, Brianna? No? I didn't think so."

"You didn't even give me a chance to answer!"

"Hey," Haley looked around, "Where's Kendall?"

The group blinked and scanned the soccer field, "… Wasn't she just here?" Brianna asked.

"Probably high-tailed it when she realized just how crazy you all are." Kick muttered.

Jackie smacked him upside the helmet then pointed across the field, I think she's starting to warm up with the rest of the girls," She turned to Haley, "You should probably get going."

"LET'S GO LADIES LET'S GO! LET'S GO LADIES LET'S GO!"

"… Do I have too?"

"Yes."

"Ugh! Fine!"

They watched as she left before Kick shot Jackie a glare, "I'm seriously starting to question your sanity."

"Wasn't it just last night you were saying you wanted to talk to her to clear up the bad blood between you two?"

"I was going to do it at my own pace! I don't need you interfering!"

"Please," She scoffed lightly, "You're life wouldn't be as interesting without me."

"It'd be a hell of a lot less complicated…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Thought so."

"You guys are hopeless," Brianna sighed, "Let's just head to our seats."

"What seat? I'm tied to a wagon!" Kick complained.

Jackie shrugged, "You'll live. But I'll see you later," A devious smiled crossed her face, "I've got something to take care of."

* * *

 _Why why why?!_ Kendall kicked the soccer ball and the goalie barely flinched as she caught it before it collided with her head.

"Ease up on the power, Kendall!"

"Yes coach!"

She sighed and restarted the drill. Kick showing up tied to a wagon was _so_ not the scenario she'd been imagining. She had pictured him sitting in the stands, a stubborn and reluctant look on his face that would slowly morph to interest as he watched the game. Then she would approach them after the girls won so she could explain herself and apologize (because yes, it was partially her fault) and then-

She blinked, barely catching her teammates pass. And then… what? Go off skateboarding into the sunset? She scoffed; unlikely, and they couldn't just pick up from where they left off could they? No they were different people now. Sure the foundation was still the same and the changes were small but she didn't want to spend her time comparing the Kick she used to know to how he was now and-

" _Welcome to the 50_ _th_ _annual Girls vs Boys Soccer Game! I'm your host-_ **(BAM!)** _what the- who are y- hey!"_

 **CRASH! BANG!**

" _Sorry about that folks!"_

Kendall's eyes widened and she kicked the ball into the goals corner post. _Oh my god!_

" _My name's Jackie Wackerman and I'll be your lovely announcer for this totally awesome game taking place today! If you haven't met me yet, just ask the captain of the Girls Soccer team since she and I go way back!"_

The spectators turned to stare at her and she offered them a nervous laugh and wave. _Jackie is so dead when I get my hands on her…_

" _Of course, even if you don't, you'll know who I am by the end of the game! We've got an_ _ **amazing**_ _line up for the girls today, and yes I'm being a bit bias but can you blame me?! Although I'll admit that the members the boys picked out are not players to be laughed at! We'll be staring here in a bit so hurry and stop by the snack stand if you're feeling hungry or head to the restrooms because this is one game you definitely don't want to miss!"_

"I know that look." Haley commented as she guided her friend off the field, "That's the one you get whenever you're contemplating how to get away with murder."

"Death seems too light of a punishment… And I don't think about homicide that often!"

"It's happened enough times for me to know when you're thinking about it."

"Point taken."

Haley gave her a smile, "She went all out to make sure you kept your mind off what's his name."

"Kick," Kendall muttered, "And yeah but anyone could've told her that once I'm on the field my mind just clears."

"I don't know about that Kends,"  
"Yeah, you've been _super_ spacy lately."  
"We were like, staring to staring to worry about you."  
"Yeah! 'Cause we're a team you know?"

Kendall sighed, "When will you guys stop eavesdropping on my conversations?!"

""Never.""

A beat passed.

"Why me?!"

"Karma."

She shot her best friend a glare, "What."

"Karma," Haley repeated, "You know; when good or bad consequences depending on what you do in life."

"… I have no words for that."

"Speechless? Yeah, I thought so**."

"Let's bring it in girls!" Their coach called as Kendall leveled her team with a look.

"All of you are so dead."

They had the grace to look slightly chastised.

 _Seriously,_ Kendall huffed, _What happened to my life?_ Her team had always been eccentric and her best friend slightly on the odd side when she felt like it but the past couple weeks had been flat out weird and annoying. Probably because for once she was the source of entertainment instead of a teasing bystander... still, she didn't remember anyone getting quite as crazy as they'd been acting since her previous love life decided to knock her down like a soccer ball to the gut.

However… their actions did nothing to change how much she actually appreciated them; they _were_ her first real group of friends after she moved into town after all. She waited patiently through their team huddle and Jackie's ridicules narration of the line ups before finally stepping onto the field. Thinking about it, in their own way they'd been trying to help her move forward because while things had been crazy, nothing worth having ever came easy.

The whistle sounded and the next thing she knew the ball was headed her way, a burst of adrenaline rushed through her and her instincts took over.

 _Open field. Passing to Girl's #15._

She was known as a well-thought-out person; someone who always carefully considered things and planned before she did anything. Yet she could be brash and impulsive because deep down, she was a tomboy through and though. And on the field she was a perfect blend of thought and action.

Sporadic thoughts passed through her mind as she took in every movement her team or opponents made and analyzed them instantly, reacting so quickly it let little doubt to the rumors of her skills.

 _Receiving; boys are guarding too well, heading across the field._

 _Boy's # 11 incoming from the left, unable to dodge. Girl's #20 open; pass!_

 _Girl's #20 passing to Girl's #3, Boy's #15 attempting to intercept. Block!***_

Kendall dashed across the field and cut in front of the boy just as he stopped the ball, smirking at his look of surprise as she jumped away and kicked it to a wide open Haley. She had another reason to give her best today; she would prove to everyone (herself included) that even though she had her faults, she deserved a second chance. Regardless if he decided he wanted to date her or not, she wasn't the same girl who had ran away!

The ball went sailing past the goalie and into the net.

She grinned and high-fived her teammates as they backed into position. The ball was thrown to Andre and she ran across the field to intercept the next pass, excitement coursing through her.

How could she have forgotten? The feeling she got after they scored or when they won a game … all those grueling practices and training for hours on end just to get the ball into the net, to achieve something so _simple_. Yet, nothing could surpass the pride she and her team felt when they managed it.

They all worked so hard _because it was worth it_. All her struggles, all her experiences, everything she had gone through for _years_ , she _made_ each and every one of those moments mean something in a single moment. And because of that she knew that any good type of relationship with Kick would be meaningful if they both put in the effort.

A flash of white and black caught her eye, and she turned in surprise as three more soccer balls appeared on the field, confusing her along with both teams and the crowd.

"What's going-"

Pain exploded in the back of her head and everything went dark.

* * *

" _Alright folks last call! Like I said earlier you don't want to miss this game so if you're getting some food or nature's calling then hurry it up and get back to the stands!"_

Kick ignored Jackie's voice and eyed his sister's outfit, "I can't believe you actually wore that."

"I can make anything look good."

"Says you…" His eye twitched when she gave him an overly sweet smile, "I'm not taking it back."

"You're just grumpy because you were outsmarted by a bunch of 6 year olds."

"No, I'm _upset_ because a group of kids snuck into my room at _5AM_ then dragged me around town for _three hours_ before they realized the game wasn't supposed to start till _noon_!"

She blinked, "You could've taken a nap."

"Oh well _excuse me_ for not feeling comfortable enough to fall asleep while I was being held against my will!"

"You're forgiven."

"GAH! You're so _difficult_!"

"We were just saying the same thing about Jackie earlier."

"Don't compare me to her!"

"You're right; she doesn't deserve that kind of put down."

"… I hate you."

"Grumpy~." She sing-songed.

"Doesn't change how I'm never going to let you live this down."

"I'll be sure to remember that when you and Kendall get married."

He sighed.

"… I don't think I liked the sound of that." Brianna turned towards him, "What's on your mind?"

"Why does everyone believe Kendall and I are going to just pick up our old relationship as if nothing ever happened?" He watched her for a moment then turned towards the field. "I mean, yeah what we had before was great but… we're not exactly the same people anymore. We grew up; changed and adapted to life without each other."

A beat passed.

"But," She began hesitantly, "That doesn't mean you can't get to know each other again."

He sighed again, "I know, which is why I want to take things _slowly_."

"Slow? _You_?"

"Yeah, yeah: shocking."

She shook her head, "I would say I'm surprised, but after this week, not really."

"Whatever. The point is I want to get to know this other side of Kendall."

"Don't you mean new?"

"No. Well sorta; I mean this is new to me, but a little birdie told me she's been playing for years, which means she's not _completely_ different, she's just not afraid to show this side of her anymore." He smiled, "I'm kinda excited to see her in an actually game instead of practice."

"Honestly that first day seems like a lifetime ago."

"Doesn't it?"

" _Alright everybody! Let's get this 35_ _th_ _annual Boys vs Girls started! Ready to hear the line ups? 'Cause I'm more than ready to announce them! First up on the Boy's Team we have a goalie who not only stops others from scoring, is known for stopping hearts as well!_ "

They tuned her out.

"Shouldn't you be with the other cheerleaders?"

"They'll live."

"You just don't want to be seen in that outfit."

"Nice try; I'm actually on guard duty."

"And just _how_ am I supposed to get out of-"

"I saw Gunther hiding in the bushes over there; you're staying."

He scoffed, "I would've come even without Jackie's extreme methods."

"Yeah and kept out of sight too. Possibly in those same bushes."

"I still would've been here…" He grumbled.

"Oh! They're starting!"

They watched as the ball was immediately passed to Kendall, who took in the field before she gave it to #15 on her team.

"Wow," Brianna awed as the two of them watched, "They're really good."

Kick smiled, "Doesn't surprise me; I've seen enough of their practices to know that they're gonna make it to nationals."

"I told you that two weeks ago!****"

"And your point is?"

"I'm not talking to you!"

"Better for me."

"Like you'll enjoy Jackie's narration."

"I think it's pretty good."

They flinched in surprise, "GUNTHER?!"

"Hey guys," He stuffed some popcorn in his mouth then held out the bag, "Want some?"

Brianna shook her head, "No thanks."

"Can't." Kick shrugged, "Still tied up."

"I can live with that."

They turned to the field and watched in captivated wonder as the ball was passed back to Kendall and she dashed across the field. She was _fast_! Looking back now that he knew her 'secret' it wasn't all that surprising she managed to out run him all those years ago, and her reaction time was just… indescribable. He grinned as Kendall passed it to #20 just as one of the boys tried to sneak up from her left. _Talk about reflexes._ He thought to himself. Even though he had witnessed it first hand back when they were kids^ it was still impressive seeing how fast she reacted.

"Wow." Gunther shook his head, "She's awesome!"

"You bet she is." Kick bragged. His eyes widened when she suddenly took off and intercepted one of the boys as he tried to steal the ball, easily snatching it back, passing it to Haley and-

" _GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!"_

""Yeah!"" The trio shouted! ""Woo! Go Kendall! Go Haley! You guys got this!""

"A. W. E. S-O-M-E. WHAT'S THAT SPELL? AWESOME! GO LADY-PIRATES!"

"That was amazing!" Brianna bounced in her seat, "I don't think I've ever been so into a soccer game!"

The boys nodded in agreement. "Looks like the boys get to start this play." Gunther commented.

Kick grinned as the team high-fived each other and backed away from the goalie. The ball was thrown to Andre and Kendall ran across the field to intercept the next pass, excitement written all over her face. Andre dodged her and kicked it to another teammate.

"Where are they going?" Brianna tilted her head as half the players on both teams ran in a different direction. "The ball's over there."

"No its not," Gunther pointed towards the opposite direction, "See?"

"There's three of them." Kick muttered, just loud enough for them to hear. He turned to Kendall as she looked around in confusion before he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, "Kendall! Look out!"

He watched in horror as a soccer ball hit the back of her head and she fell to the ground.

* * *

 *** Season 1 Episode 18** **Dancing with the Enemy** **Kick says "Two star-crossed lovers, brought together by fate." As he places Jackie and Gunther's hands together. She's using a similar line.  
**Some of you have probably already noticed, but if someone manages to make another person speechless they get to rub it in a little bit.  
***I know this seems really short, but we're focusing on Kendall's thoughts. Not the entire play-by-play of the game. Which you probably noticed when we were in Kick's POV.  
****Chapter 1 reference.  
^Season 1 Episode 18 ****Dancing with the Enemy** **.  
Personally I love this sassy version of Jackie. Her attitude is based off my youngest sister's (my brother says I'm a bad influence but personally I blame him ;P).  
Review if you can and remember: Constructive Criticism only.  
See you next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.  
Hey everyone! I'm sorry about not consistently updating. You guys are just so amazing! TvT  
Thank you so much for the reviews, for sticking with this story and for the recent follows!  
We're getting towards the end of this lovely tale and I hope you'll enjoy it!**

* * *

A soccer ball to the head wasn't as common as most people seemed to think. In fact, Kendall could count on one hand how many times it had actually happened to her or someone on her team and most of those had been back when she was a child. Getting knocked out was even rarer and it was usually because someone was being annoying and they probably deserved it. So her first thought (besides _OW!_ ) was that even though she'd been a bit difficult the past two weeks it _did not_ justify the agonizing bump on her head! Kendall couldn't help but groan.

"Yeah that looked like a pretty bad hit. How are you feeling?"

She sat up, "Gunther?"

"Right, stupid question…" He shook his head, "Sorry."

"Well it's not exactly bad-"

"I'm surprised your brain is still inside your head."

She laughed, "Aren't you supposed to be sympathetic to patients?"

"I'm not a doctor."

"Right. You don't have to be nervous; I'm not going to yell at you."

"For now…" He mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She smiled. Gunther had always been the more sentimental one out of their group of friends, and according to Brianna he got snarky with people more often when something bothered him. It was a bit weird, seeing what everyone else probably considered a minor change because honestly it made her feel like someone pulled a rug from beneath her feet. And while the past two weeks had made her feel like she was 12 and back in Mellowbrooke it was small things like this that made her realize all over again that life waited for no one.

It was similar to how the seasons changed; slow, steady, almost unnoticed but if one left for a while it would feel like a life time had passed once they returned. More than anything this proved she was right in wanting to rebuild her friendship with Kick and earn his trust back; that she would always give him the benefit of the doubt and listen when he had something to say instead of jumping to conclusions, no matter how seemingly justified they might seem.

She looked to the side of the infirmary bed, speaking of which… "Am I dreaming?"

"What?"

"Why is Kick holding my hand?" She whispered, nodding towards the sleeping daredevil.

"Uh…" Gunther scratched the back of his head, "Well, he hasn't gotten a lot of sleep lately…"

"I'm guessing since Jackie got here?"

"No- Well yes but that's not the only reason!"

She chuckled, "Where is she anyways?"

"In a dark corner of despair with Brianna."

"…"

"They feel responsible for what happened."

"I'm not really sure what one has to do with the other so…" She gestured for an explanation.

He sighed, "You know your number one rivals?"

"The Bumblebees?"

"… No, the Vikings."

"The Vikings?" She tried to muffle her laughter (poor Kick was still sleeping) but really, she was sure people outside could hear her, "No offense to them," She giggled, "But everyone in the district calls them the Pranksters. Games with them are a _riot_."

"But- but- they said-"

"They play a joke at each city's summer event and say something like 'We're keeping our Number One rivals on their toes!'. No one knows who their true rival actually is, but I guess this year they decided our soccer match would be a good time to put on a show." She gently pulled her hand away, "The team we wanna beat are the Bumblebees."

A beat.

"The pirates' worst enemies are the Bumblebees?"

"Yes"

Gunther fell to the ground in a fit of laughter. "Oh my- oh my-! That's just- hahahahaha!"

"Don't laugh!" She snapped as quietly as she could, "Those guys are tough!"

"I can imagine!" He clutched his sides, "A big, bad pirate scared of a little bumblebee!"

"Their smallest football players are twice your size."

The amusement died.

"Ah silence," She smirked, "Such a beautiful thing."

"Were you were being serious or did you just say that just to make me stop?"

"Both."

Gunther sighed, "Well they figured if they hadn't got all crazy you probably wouldn't be in here."

"That's probably true."

"Yeah." He nodded towards Kick, "He's been worried about you."

"Hmm."

"Are you going to talk?"

"… We should, shouldn't we?"

"Don't you want too?"

Yes. But it was hard to work up courage once it was lost. Or in her case, literally knocked out of her. She'd been planning on after the soccer game not only not only to him the chance to see how different she was and convince him to hear her out, but also because (even if they lost) the adrenalin would've given her that extra push. But then again, she was no coward. Not anymore and even if she was flat out rejected maybe the part of her that had been holding on would finally have some closure and she would be able to move on.

"I'm ready to talk if you are."

She looked down in surprise, "Kick?"

"The one and only," He smiled softly at her, "You said my name."

"Well it's your given title so…"

"No need to be shy; Gunther's already gone."

She looked around in confusion then turned back to her… what was she supposed to call him actually? "He's pretty fast and quiet, all things considered."

"We've grown up, Kendall."

"I meant compared to that first day at the mall," She rolled her eyes and gently pulled her hand away, "He came in wearing a French nobleman's outfit. I don't mean one of those fancy business suits, I'm talking those stupid frills and puffed-up pants from back in the 19th century."

Kick blinked.

"Got nothin' to say to that, show-off?"

"Not a show-off."

She laughed, "My point has been made. But yeah, I know we've all grown up."

"Some of us more than others." He smirked as he moved to sit beside her. "Don't worry, I'll wait for you to catch up to me."

She punched his arm and watched as he burst into laughter, "Smart-aleck."

"How's your head."

"Oh, I guess a little sore, but I can't really feel it."

"Seems like you got a pretty think skull."

"I need it to be able to put up with you."

"You know you love me."

She gave him a gloomy smile, "I think we have a lot to talk about."

* * *

Kick blinked. Then blinked again. And a third time. Well… that was one way to change a conversation, although he could've done without the nearly depressing aura she gave off. True the last time they spoke they left off on a rather… horrible note but Jackie had said Kendall was willing to clear the air between them and he'd actually been looking forward to it.

Which reminded him; both Jackie and Brianna needed to pay for everything they put him through. And Gunther, though not as severely since the guy had a tough time saying no to his girlfriend and then Brianna was just a shark when she wanted something. Sill, wasn't it some universal, unwritten law that one should never purposely wake up a daredevil two nights in a row?

"Kick are you listening?"

Ah, he was getting off track. Sleep deprivation sucked.

"Yeah."

"No you're not," Kendall huffed, "You seriously need a nap."

"Trying to get rid of me already?" He teased.

"More like trying to make sure you don't pass out in the middle of our conversation." She gave him a haughty smirk, "It's rude you know."

"Please, I've been waiting for this, so nothing short of an explosion is gonna keep it from happening."

The air grew heavy again.

"Kendall," He groaned and ran a hand down his face, "Don't be like that."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Yes, you are. You're getting all depressed and -"

"I'm sorry." Kick looked up in surprise and met Kendall's serious gaze. "I know I should've given you a chance, and it doesn't excuse anything, but I was going through some self-confidence issues and what happened, even if it didn't actually _happen_ , was like my worst nightmare come to life."

She turned towards him, "Kick you're so outgoing and friendly and for so many years I both admired and envied you and put you on this pedestal that sometimes I wanted to knock you down from but I still liked you so when you asked me out it was like… I don't know just… surreal. And I couldn't believe that you, an amazing and clever daredevil, would want to date me, a bratty teacher's pet.

"And I know that doesn't really sound like me but I was 14 and even though my sister never went through any type of inner self crisis I unfortunately did and seeing you with your old crush was just…" She gripped at her shorts and took a deep breath, but the serious look in her eyes never wavered. "Like I said, it doesn't justify or excuse how I reacted because after all the years of knowing you… well… I just thought you should know why."

… Was he hallucinating? Because there was absolutely _no way_ that Kendall (smart, confident, bossy, responsible, elegant _Kendall_ ) had ever in at one point of her life thought she wasn't good enough for him. Right? Right. Yeah he really couldn't wrap his head around that possibility but that was probably from the lack of sleep; he could usually process things (no matter how ridicules) faster.

"You didn't really think that did you?"

Her eyes narrowed and although there was a touch of annoyance he also noticed the understanding in them too, "Yes."

"Huh."

"I don't like that amusement in your tone."

"I just think it's kinda funny how you thought that when I was busy worrying about not messing up."

"… What?"

He shrugged, "Well to be honest even though I kinda knew you liked me back I was still surprised you gave me a chance when I asked you out, unconventional as it was, and I just didn't want to scare you off or something. I'm actually pretty difficult in somethings, believe it or not."

A smile tugged at the edge of her lips and he couldn't help but grin, "You?" She drawled, "High-maintenance? I _never_ would've thought."

"Shocking, I know. But that's beside the point; you had standards and I didn't exactly fit your criteria and-"

"Who says you didn't?"

"Well my grades-"

"Kick, by the time we started dating I knew for a fact that grades didn't define how smart a person was."

"I'm impulsive."

"And? Sure you do some pretty crazy stunts, but when it comes to things that actually matter you always think things through."

He sighed, "You're not going to let me say my piece are you?"

"I should; it's only fair since you let me say mine." She pointed to the clock, "But if I know my team halftime is about to begin and they're gonna be rushing in here soon."

"Well I just wanted to let you know that I kinda get it; I tried to act like the perfect boyfriend when we were together because I thought if I didn't you'd leave me for someone… I don't know, better? That wasn't fair to either of us and I'm really sorry I wasn't 'real' with you all the time."

She nodded, "I really want to be friends with you, Kick."

"Maybe we can start all over?"

"Oh god, you're not gonna do that cheesy, reintroducing yourself thing are you?"

"Hi nice to meet you, my name's-"

"Shut up!"

They burst out laughing.

"Come on," She hopped off the bed and motioned for him to follow, "We better pull Brianna and Jackie out of their pity party."

"Hm. Hey Kendall?"

"Yeah?"

"I forgive you."

She smiled, "I forgive you too."

* * *

"I'm a horrible best friend…"

"I'm a horrible sister…"

Gunther sighed; they had been beating themselves up since the nurse told (yelled) at them that they were being more of a bother than actual help. In fact, he'd left Kick and Kendall alone 15 minutes ago and they were _still at it_! Then again it was probably the reality check they needed for them to finally back off and let Kick and Kendall do things at their own pace. Sure they had helped a little in their own weird, well-meaning way ( _not_ that he'd tell them; he wasn't going to encourage _more_ eccentric behavior) but that was done and over with and really, they could've handled things better (including him).

What was that phrase? Live and learn? Hopefully everyone would take that to heart. Still, what bothered him was that they hadn't actually realized how extreme they were acting till some stranger put them in their place.

 _Well,_ he thought, _they also say you never listen to close family and friends when it's not convent for you._

"How long are you going to keep this up?"

"Till Kendall wakes up and we can apologize." Jackie answered dully.

"She's already awake."

""Really!""* They jumped up and made a beeline for the door.

"Oh no you don't!" He grabbed their shirt collars and pulled them back. "She's talking with Kick and if you go in before either of them are done, so help me I'll bring down the wrath of the gods upon you!"

They sat in the corner again, though he suspected it was because of his genuine annoyance rather than their self-deprecating thoughts.

"I don't know if I can face her any more…"

"Me neither…"

"We're horrible friends…"

"And I'm a horrible sister…"

"I'm pretty sure this road you're taking isn't going to lead anywhere."

Both of them shot him a glare but it was Brianna who answered, "Well _excuse_ us for trying to be decent human beings by reflecting on our bad behavior this past week!"

"You two are too nosey for your own good! They don't need you interrupting their conversation-"

"We didn't even know he was in there till you said so!" She stood and threw her hands up in exasperation, "It's not like we _don't_ want them to talk things out!"

"We'll now's our chance to make amends because all of us are to blame and-"

"Gunther," Jackie looked up at him with big, soulful eyes, "I can only speak for myself, but I'm really sorry for everything I put you, Kick and Kendall through. You two Brianna. I was… just trying to help."

He wanted to stay mad at her (it wasn't fair to let her off the hook so easily) but he was such a sucker for that look. He sighed, "Thanks for apologizing, but just because I'm willing to accept it and that you're being sincere it doesn't mean I'm going to act like everything's ok and that I'm not upset."

She smiled sadly, "I understand."

"I do love you though."

"I love you too."

Brianna sighed this time, "I'm sorry for treating you like a pack mule rather than a partner in crime and then for going along with your bad ideas, Jackie, just because I was a little upset with my brother."

"Not all of them were bad ideas…" Jackie mumbled.

Brianna wisely kept her mouth shut.

"I accept your apology," Gunther crossed his arms and looked at the celling, "I feel like I need a vacation from this vacation."

Jackie moved to the bench beside him, "Weren't your parents visiting relatives? You could ask to join them?"

"I was hoping for something more soothing. Like going to a spa."

Brianna sighed wistfully. "That sounds nice."

"Is the game still going on?" Kendall asked.

"Yeah, Andre and Haley said matches don't stop unless the field is flooded." Gunther shrugged, "And even then."

"Good to know your teammates have conviction." Kick gave Kendall an impressed grin as she nodded solemnly.

A beat passed.

"What is _wrong_ with you two?!" Jackie exploded. "You can't just walk in here like everything's all hunky-dory when Brianna and I have beating ourselves up!"

"As you should be," Kendall crossed her arms and gave her best friend a scolding look. "Did you honestly expect me to instantly forgive you once I witnessed your little pity-party?"

" _No!_ I was expecting a scolding or a lecture or _something_! Not…" She waved her hands erratically at them, " _This_!"

"Well we can't always get what we want right when we want it." Kick shot Jackie a smirk, "But that doesn't mean you're off the hook; Kendall has a game to get back to so we'll have to put this conversation on hold."

Brianna sighed, "Guess there's no getting out of it."

"But that's just torture!" Jackie wailed, "My imagination will run away with me and I'll pass out from the panic!"

"You'll live."

Gunther shivered. "You're scary sometimes you know that?"

"It's a gift."

""KENDALL!""

The entire girls' soccer team burst into the room and before any of them knew it, they were shoved into the hallway.

"The nerve!" Jackie huffed.

"Well she is their captain."

"No one asked for your opinion, Gunther." Brianna sassed. "It doesn't change how rude they were."

"We should probably get back to the game," Kick looked at the door then turned back to his friends and sister, "It's only half time and to be honest I want watch the girl's win."

"Oh~ looks like things ended on a good note!" Jackie grabbed his hand, "They did right?"

Kick chuckled, "We're getting there. I feel our friendship is off to a good start."

"Friendship?"

"Yeah," He gave them a serious look, "You gotta remember we ended on a really bad note 3 years ago-"

"That's putting it mildly…" Brianna muttered.

"-and whether you like it or not it's not something we're just gonna get over. These things take time, and both of us know that we're not going to jump right in to where we used to be. In fact, I don't even want our old relationship; maybe we didn't know it back then but both of us had self-esteem issues and things we didn't want to talk about or compromise on and that's not a healthy relationship. Maybe it would've come to light eventually in a good way, maybe not and we would've had an even _worse_ falling out, I don't know, but what I am sure of is that yes, I do still want a romantic relationship with her.

"Maybe I want it because I need the closure, maybe because I've liked her since I was 10 and I still have that childish infatuation with her, but that's something I want to figure out _slowly_. Sometimes running head first towards what you want is what makes sure you accomplish it, but you gotta know when it's necessary to take it one step at a time and my gut tells me this is one of those moments. We gotta rebuild our foundation and our trust in each other and learn about each other all over again."

A beat passed.

"Wow Kick," Gunther shook his head in amazement, "That's really mature of you."

Jackie sniffed, "I'm so proud; they grow up so fast!"

Brianna nodded.

"I'm ignoring all of you and heading back to the game."

"Aww don't be like that Kick," Jackie threw an arm over his shoulders, "We're your friends-"

"And sister!"

"-and we mean it in a good way. I think that if you play your cards right and it's not childhood infatuation, you and Kendall are gonna make it."

He blushed and headed towards the field, "Thanks."

"What are friends- and sisters- for?"

* * *

Kendall assessed each of her teammates as they huddled together. Majority of them were out of breath and nearly in haling their water, but she didn't blame them; after getting knocked out half of them had chased down the Vikings while the rest stayed on the field to continue the game. The boys (surprisingly) were in the same position: nearly all of their players worn out from either trying to get revenge or trying to win.

"Alright girls, while I'm flattered that some of you went out of your way to 'avenge me' I'm also extremely disappointed because we're 2-2 with only 10 minutes left and all of you that should've been here so we could rotate like we _practiced_ are so out of breath I'm surprised you haven't passed out yet!"

They had the grace to look chastised.

"I got the 'go-ahead' so don't worry about me while we're on the field and I know you're tired so don't push yourselves, but keep in mind that soccer is a _team_ effort. All of us have to do our best-"

"For bragging rights!" Haley fist pumped and the group cheered with her.

"-because you can't call yourself a Lady Pirate otherwise!" She put her fist in the center, "On three. One-two-three!"

"LADIES!"

The rest of the game was just as she expected it to be; a challenge that was nothing short of exhilarating and pushed them well towards their limits. Really, even as they poured a tub of Cheetah Chug over her head she knew she couldn't have asked for a better team.

Although, when she looked up to the stands and noticed her friends were gone she felt like there was a tiny rain cloud hanging over her head. Still it wasn't as if she could blame him; poor guy… it was a wonder he still somewhat functioned.

"We won! We won!"  
"Pay up boys!"  
"Don't think you're gonna get out of our bet!"

"Double or nothin' if your captain doesn't end up dating the daredevil!"

""You're on!""

Kendall sighed, "Honestly, isn't the varsity team supposed to be more mature than this?"

"Well we can only guess what it says about you as our captain."

"Be quiet, Haley."

Her best friend hummed. "So what did you two talk about?"

"I'll tell you later."

"But I want to know now!"

"Come on, the gang's waiting for us."

"Oh no, you are _not_ getting out of this conversation missy! You are gonna tell me here and now!"

"Don't get left behind Haley~."

" _Kendall!_ "

* * *

 ***Double quotes means two or more people answer/speak at the same time.  
Short, but I still feel comfortable where I left off at.  
Tell me what you guys think!  
See you soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.  
Moving to a different city is **_**hard**_ **. Especially when your younger siblings must transfer school districts. Sorry about the long wait. We're almost done here. Maybe one last chapter to go. Thanks so much for your reviews and encouragement and for staying with the story!  
Enjoy!**

* * *

If there was something Kendall was extremely proud of herself for, it was how much she had matured. Maybe she had been a _little_ petty in her younger days (the roller derby incident, the class president campaign…), but she had learned and grown and now she liked to think of herself as a good person who was above such trivial grievances.

However, her life had been playing out like one of those _ridiculous_ soap operas her sister occasionally watched since Brianna (and Kick and Gunther) had appeared on the soccer field two weeks ago. Granted it worked out for the better- she had a blooming friendship with Kick after all- but it'd been worse than a roller coaster because her heart had been ripped out and stomped on followed by a slap in the face when she found out her own friends had decided making her go through emotional trauma was the best way for her to heal.

In all honesty, she reserved the right to teach them a lesson!

 _Maybe_ she was being a touch mean, but seriously, how could people mess with someone else's life and not notice their actions were on the fast track towards "definitely going to end badly"? And while she wasn't punishing them out of spite she still felt rather pleased that she was personally handling the situation.

"Kendall-"

"No."

"But Kends-"

" _No_ , Brianna."

"But I said I was sorry!"

Kendall placed her hands on her hips, "So you think after the last two weeks a simple apology is gonna make everything all hunky-dory?" She shook her head and pointed to the machine beside her, "Not a chance."

"But- but- what about Jackie?! And Gunther?"

"Oh please, they have their own punishments. Now you gotta focus on yours."

"But the _Dunk Tank_!" She wailed. "Can't you be a little more merciful?"

"Do you see any wings? Or a halo for that matter?"

"At least let me wear something more fashionable!"

"Not a chance. Get dressed, Brianna."

The pageant queen shot her a glare but reluctantly shuffled towards the changing rooms. And that feeling of smug satisfaction? Totally justified.

"You're pretty cruel when you want to be." Haley held out her cotton candy, "Want some?"

Kendall blinked, "When did you get here?"

"Three seconds ago." She waved the treat and Kendall promptly took a bite.

"Thanks. And I like to think of it as helping her realize that there are consequences to your actions. If you do a good deed, good things happen. You do a bad thing, bad things happen."

"What about when you do a good thing that someone thinks is a bad thing and vice-versa?"

"Now you're just making things complicated. You brought the camera, right?"

"Yup. How long are you gonna make her shift last?"

"Four hours."

"Like I said, cruel."

Kendall shrugged. "It almost makes up for the hours of sleep I'll never get back."

"So, what are you making Jackie and Gunther do?"

There was probably a maniacal grin on her face, if Haley's slightly horrified look was anything to go by.

"Let's head over so you can see for yourself."

* * *

" _And this, boys and girls, is why… you must always… remember…_ _ **safety first**_ _!"_

The crowd burst into cheers but Haley found it took an amazing amount of self-control to keep herself from erupting into hysterics. "It sounds like she's getting her teeth pulled."

"She'd probably prefer that to this." Kendall sighed wistfully, "If only I had thought of things like this back when we were younger..."

"Ok Miss. Dreamland, how long are you gonna make her keep this up?"

"Two and a half hours."

"I almost feel sorry for her."

"That makes one of us."

Again, Kendall was not trying to be malicious- or petty- and while she knew Jackie had simply been trying to help distract her (intentions coming from a good place) it didn't excuse what she had done to Kick. Seriously, causing two nights of sleep deprivation and kidnapping him? Not cool at all. Which was why Kick had picked the punishment instead of her; poor guy had suffered so much at the hands of her best friend…

However, everyone else thought Kendall was the mastermind and that suited her perfectly because the whole point was for their friends to learn to _never do it again_ and since Kick was more forgiving there was a chance neither Brianna or Jackie would restrain themselves if another opportunity presented itself. The wrath of Kendall Perkins, on the other hand, was something to be feared.

She and Haley watched for a moment as Jackie broke into song. Some catchy tune about looking both ways before crossing the street.

"I think she'd make a good safety officer."

Kendall snorted, "Don't let her hear you saying that; her nickname isn't 'Wacky Jackie' for no reason."

"… You may have a point there."

"I do."

"And Gunther?"

"Clean up duty."

Haley raised an eyebrow, "That doesn't sound like much of a punishment."

"He has to throw away all the food people order but don't eat."

The look she received was nothing short of horrified, "That's wasteful!"

"I know, and I feel bad; you won't _believe_ how much people leave behind! Someone else could've appreciated it! But it's a health violation to _not_ throw it away."

"Man, that _sucks_!"

"Tell me about it. It's even worse for Gunther because he appreciates food more than anyone I know." Kendall frowned, "It's probably physically painful for him to dump out full plates."

"I'd die a little bit on the inside every time if I had to do that."

"Out of the three of them I actually feel slightly guilty about making him do this, but he played a part in making my, and Kick's, life impossible by going along with Brianna's scheme."

"Can't really argue with that. Where is Kick anyways?"

Kendall shrugged, "Last I heard he was catching up on sleep. But that was a while back, so he could be here by now."

"Yeah I would've been here sooner but it was a rough two nights."

""Kick!"" They exclaimed in surprise.

"Just finished watching Brianna get dunked three times in a row," He grinned, "How'd you get the baseball _and_ softball teams to play?"

"They owed me a favor."

Haley squirmed uncomfortably for a moment (she was also in Kendall's debt) and slowly began inching away, "I'm gonna find Andre, I'll see you two later."

"See you," Kendall lifted her hand in a wave then turned to Kick, "Came to see how our beloved friends are faring?"

He laughed, "You could say that; it sounds better than saying I'm seeing how our revenge is going."

"Don't call it revenge. That just makes us seem petty and mean. If anyone asks we'll just tell them we're returning the favor."

"Like that's any better," He scoffed jokingly.

"I'll have you know that it actually is."

"Sounds like you have some experience with that."

"Oh please; a good student like me? Perish the thought."

They shot each other mock-arrogant grins before Kendall's expression dimmed slightly, "You know, as much as I love them, I really hope they learn from this."

"Yeah…" Kick sighed, "Because of them majority of my vacation's been nothing but misfortune."

"Oooh look at you; using fancy words." She teased and he grinned.

"Figured you'd appreciate it."

"How much longer are you guys going to be here?"

"Another few days; dad wasn't quite willing to make it three weeks."

"So… I'll be seeing you around then?"

"Guess so… I- well…" He rubbed the back of his helmet, "We've been visiting a lot of the more tourist spots and… well… would you mind showing us all the other places people don't really know about."

She blinked.

"I mean you don't have to!" His face turned bright red, "You probably have a lot to do since you're captain and all that. It doesn't really surprise me if you're busy and don't have time, I just wanted to know if you could spend time with the gang like we used too…"

 _He's such a goof-ball._ She smiled lightly to herself and tuned him out. She felt… really giddy; it was just a bunch of energy building up inside her to the point she wanted to burst! She nearly laughed; she hadn't felt so excited in _years_! Not since she tried to get out of detention, outsmarted the Buttowski Brother's as their babysitter (up till the end), crossed the city with her hand stuck to Kick's, danced with him for gym…

 _Ok, that's enough of that Kends._ She shook her head; _We are rebuilding our friendship and friends hang out sometimes. That's completely normal._

"Sounds fun," She chirped, pulling him out his nervous ramble.

He blinked in surprise then gave her a boyish smile that nearly melted her where she stood. _Nope. No melting here. Just happy to spend time with the gang. Yup._

"Cool. I'll… text you about it later?"

"Well you could… but you don't have my number." She teased.

"Oh, silly me," He held up his phone, "Wanna trade?"

"I'll think about it."

"Now that's cruel; leading a guy on like that."

"I was simply pointing out the obvious."

"You injure my fragile male ego, Kendall Perkins." He smirked and leaned towards her, "How are you going to make it up to me?"

She rolled her eyes good naturedly, "As if anything about you could be considered fragile."

"For this argument's sake let's say it is."

"Wanna watch Brianna get dunked again?"

"You read my mind."

* * *

 _I thought Tug-of-War was only violent on TV._ Kick thought with a slight grimace; despite her quick temper, Kendall hardly ever reacted physically when someone pushed her over the edge. Then again, ever since she and Jackie became friends so many years before, that self-control seemed to slowly wither away when they were on opposite teams. Maybe it was the athlete in her…

He flinched when Jackie let out a war-cry and tackled Haley's older sister into the mud pit.

"If it weren't for the fact you've been a walking zombie up till now I would be madder at you."

Kick gave his best friend a look, "You brought it on yourself."

"Do you have any _idea_ how many elephant ears I had to throw away because of that stupid health rule!" Gunther looked towards the sky and dabbed at his tears, "Oh sweet sustenance from the heavens, I hardly knew thee…"

"Don't be so dramatic."

"It should be a certified crime to throw away perfectly good food!"

Kick shrugged, "Probably,"

"And they were all tossed aside by my own hands," He sighed, "Such a waste…"

"Did you learn your lesson?"

"Yeah; scarf them down when no one's looking."

" _Gunther_!"

"Kidding, kidding!" He laughed nervously, "Seriously though; I will not engage in Brianna's plots to manipulate my friend's lives. And that if I know something's a misunderstanding to clear it up."

Kick snorted, "I'll hold you to that."

They turned back and watched Kendall and Jackie's fifth round of Tug-of-War. Surprisingly, for the first time since he saw her on the soccer field Kick actually felt _relaxed_ ; no one was conspiring against him, he was on good terms with an old friend, he had finished setting up a stunt that was epic enough to make everyone in the entire city's mouth _drop_ and he'd actually gotten a decent nap to function properly for another few hours.

His heart fluttered a bit when Kendall glanced over at them and smiled. Ok, he seriously needed to stop that; he'd always admired her determination, intelligence and sense of responsibility despite how bratty she often acted back when they were younger, but right now they were simply taking time to get to know each other all over again. And because of that Kick could honestly say he was grateful he agreed to let his family take him on vacation.

Things would progress slowly and there was a chance neither one of them would _want_ to be more than friends, but they'd cross that bridge if it ever came up. Really, he was just glad another level-headed person to talk to when things got too crazy, not that Gunther wasn't practical but he tended to let Jackie get away with a lot. According to his best friend, that was the life of a dedicated boyfriend, which Kick wholeheartedly disagreed with (Kendall had treated him like an equal during their somewhat short relationship) and-

And he was getting distracted.

"Is everything set up for later?"

Gunther nodded, "Yup. I left the sheet of metal in the car; you can attach it when you're ready."

"I got a few hours to kill. Maybe I'll join the girls."

Brianna shrieked and pushed Kendall into the mud. "Or we could just let them be."

"Good idea."

* * *

"Please tell me he's not doing this…"

Haley shook her head, "I'm pleading the fifth."

"That doesn't even apply to this situation!"

"I don't see why you're freaking out about this, Kend's," Haley's sister commented from beside them, "If anything you should be excited."

"About what exactly, Julie?" Brianna drawled.

"About the romanticism, _duh_!" Jackie interrupted, "He's doing this to get her to fall for him all over again! It's super cute I could write a book about it!"

"He's been planning this since we first heard about the trip, before he knew Kendall was even here."

"Gunther! I am your girlfriend and as such you will _not_ destroy my daydreams!"

"It's nine at night." Brianna noted, "Can it still be considered _day_ dreaming?"

"Be quiet, Bree."

"Make me."

"All of you! Stop. Talking." Kendall shot them a look then turned back to the top of the roller coaster, "I swear if he has to cancel on me I will personally-"

"Ooooohhhh." Jackie's voice interrupted, and Kendall cringed when she saw the coy look on her friend's face, "Are you two going on a date?"

"It's a group outing!"

"I'm sure it is."

"Shut up you little sass monkey!"

"I'm just as tall as you!"

"Jackie! Look what I got you!"

She gasped, "A slice of lingonberry pie! Oh Gunther, you shouldn't have!"

"So, what exactly is Kick planning on?" Julie asked before Kendall could rekindle the argument.

Gunther pointed towards the roller coaster, "That, my lovely new friend, is a state-of-the-art _magnetic_ roller coaster; it uses an electrical current to generate a magnetic field which causes a secondary magnetic field in the aluminum or copper sheets that are attached to the cars to make them move forward."

"So basically, he attached a sheet of metal on the bottom of his skateboard so that he can ride the roller coaster till he gets to the big loop, jump off that through 3 fire rings hanging over a pool of sharks, land on the farris wheel-"

"NOOO!" Andrea suddenly appeared next to them, "Don't ruin it for everyone, Haley!"

"Oh hush you, not everyone is a daredevil fanboy ya know."

Brianna, Gunther and Jackie looked at him in surprise, "You're a fanboy?" Gunther asked.

Andre blushed but nodded, "It's not really something I talk about… I was kinda freaking out when Kendall first told me. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for the aggressive vibe I got from him at the mall when we met I would've bombarded him with questions."

"Or just screamed like a girl." Kendall muttered. Julie giggled.

"I know where you live, sis."

"Try anything and suffer the consequences of my wrath."

"Oh!" Jackie gasped, "It's starting! It's starting!"

They looked towards the top of the roller coaster just as all the spot lights focused on Kick. Kendall had to agree, despite the slightly more dangerous setting it _was_ exciting to see him perform after so long. He always had such amazing and unique ideas when it came to performances, even back when they were kids. Obviously, time had not changed that part of him (which was extremely comforting) and as he shot down the track, she could admit to herself that yes, he still made heart flutter.

* * *

 **This chapter suffered a bit of a rewrite. But I do hope you guys liked it.  
As i mentioned, the next chapter is probably the last one, but wanted to thank you all for sticking with me while I dealt with real life.  
Read and review! Construction Criticism only!  
See you soon!**


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